- December 4, 2025
- 3:16 pm
- Israel
The letter bears only one date — י״ג בכסלו תשפ״ו, and in the Gregorian calendar, it is December 3, 2025. The Rabbi of Kyiv, Yonatan Markovich, who has been leading the community for many years, writes the text without diplomatic embellishments. He sends the letter to the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, with copies to the two Chief Rabbis of Israel: Rabbi Kalman Bar-Mor and Rabbi David Yosef. The very fact of the appeal is already a signal that the situation has gone beyond ordinary religious correspondence.
What the letter is about
The autumn of 2025 became one of the most difficult for the Jewish communities of Ukraine. Events unfold in a chain, without pauses. The synagogue in Kryvyi Rih is destroyed by a direct hit. In Kyiv, a missile lands 150 meters from the “Or Avner” school. In Kharkiv, the old Jewish cemetery is damaged. And just a few days before the letter — a strike on the area where Rabbi Markovich’s own home is located.
This story has already made its way through religious and Israeli media. But not simultaneously. The first to learn about the letter was through Chabad-info — a Hasidic news portal that operates in Israel and publishes materials from the Chabad movement worldwide. It was there that the full text of the letter appeared, not a retelling, but a scan with the original Hebrew date. We use their publication because it contains the primary source, without journalistic reductions.
After Chabad-info, the topic was picked up by JDN (חדשות היהדות החרדית) — a major Haredi publication that highlighted the political part: the appeal to Netanyahu and the very fact of the demand to influence the Russian leadership. Later, the letter appeared on the pages of Ynet, where journalists pulled out the headline phrase about “holy places that are not a battlefield.”
Thus, the letter from the rabbi, sent in Kyiv on the 13th of Kislev, 5786, first reached the religious press, then the Haredi news feeds, and only then the national Israeli media. And only thanks to Chabad-info is there an opportunity today to quote the original, not reworked fragments.
Markovich writes in an almost report-like tone — not for dramatic effect, but so that nothing simplifies the picture of what is happening.
He writes:
“Since the beginning of the heavy war in Ukraine, we have unfortunately witnessed repeated cases of damage to synagogues and Jewish institutions across the country by the Russian army.”
And the next phrase is the one that all Hebrew media quoted:
“The holy places of the Jewish people are not a battlefield and should not be part of military actions.”
Ukrainian Jewish organizations speak of more than 30 damaged objects — from schools to cemeteries. A shrine, a community center, a prayer hall — each such point plays the role of a “supporting framework” of Jewish life. Strikes on them are not just the destruction of buildings; they are the destruction of the infrastructure of identity.
In the letter, the rabbi explains that communities continue to work daily — teaching children, providing humanitarian aid, supporting families. But strikes on key objects make this increasingly difficult.
Why is the rabbi addressing Netanyahu specifically? Can he help?
This is an important question, and Markovich himself gives an indirect answer.
In the Israeli political space, Benjamin Netanyahu is one of the few acting world leaders who has maintained a “direct working channel” with Putin.
This connection:
- has been built over the years,
- was used in the past to prevent conflicts between Israel and Russia in Syria,
- “other factors” we may not know about,
- remains the only platform where Israel can theoretically convey a request to Putin without turning it into a public scandal.
Markovich does not expect public statements. He relies on personal influence, which in diplomacy often proves stronger than press releases.
He does not write: “take our side.”
He does not demand a political position.
He asks for things that are subject to protection under international law.
This means he truly considers Netanyahu a person capable of contributing to stopping strikes on religious objects. In the religious environment of Israel, this possibility is not considered a fantasy — on the contrary, that is why the letter is addressed to him.
The main fragment of the letter — in full, without reductions
(verbatim, as written in the original)
“As one who stands at the head of the Jewish state and maintains a direct channel of communication with the leadership of Russia, I ask you to use all your influence and appeal to the authorities of Russia with an unequivocal demand that they preserve the holy places of the Jewish people and refrain from causing them harm, in accordance with generally accepted rules and international norms.
The holy places of the Jewish people are not a battlefield and should not be part of military actions.
With respect and great appreciation,
Rabbi Yonatan Markovich
Chief Rabbi of KyivCopy:
Rabbi Kalman Bar, Chief Rabbi of Israel
Rabbi David Yosef, Rishon LeZion and Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel”**
Context: why this part of the letter is so significant
Because it contains no political subtext.
It is a request:
- to protect the sanctuaries,
- to stop the destruction,
- to remove religious objects from the combat zone,
- to do what is prescribed by international humanitarian law.
And, in Markovich’s opinion, it is Netanyahu who can at least attempt to convey this signal to where it will be heard.
There is no official reaction from Israel yet. It may be closed. It may be diplomatic. But the letter has already become a document cited in the diaspora and will enter the history of Ukrainian Jewry as an official appeal for protection at a time when the sanctuaries were under real threat.
Why the letter is important — and how it helps Ukraine
Markovich’s letter is not a gesture into the void. Israel remains one of the few countries where the leader has a direct working channel to Putin. And if Netanyahu quietly conveys the signal about the inadmissibility of strikes on synagogues and schools, Moscow will hear it much faster than Ukraine’s official notes.
The second layer is the status of the objects themselves. The strikes are on Jewish sanctuaries, and such cases always provoke an international reaction: from Jewish organizations in the USA to European human rights centers. This automatically strengthens Ukraine’s position.
The third point is often underestimated: the letter is an official testimony of destruction. Now it is not a rumor or a social media post, but a documented record that can be used in future investigations, human rights reports, and diplomatic processes.
And there is also the influence of Chabad. Markovich is part of a global network with channels in the USA, Canada, Israel, and Europe. When Chabad raises the alarm, the topic goes far beyond Ukraine: diasporas, media, funds, communities — everything is activated quickly, without bureaucracy.
That is why the letter, dated the 13th of Kislev, 5786, works as an international signal. Ukraine receives what diplomacy rarely gives — attention and support through parallel, but very strong channels.
And, in essence, this is how Rabbi Markovich’s letter moved from the internal religious circle — from Hasidic resources to the public space and further, to where diplomacy sometimes hears better than loud statements. And when we analyze this document today, quote the original, and return each line to context, it is important that not only religious media but also analytical platforms like NAnews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency are talking about it, which record the moment: Ukrainian Jewry directly appealed to Israel with a request to protect its sanctuaries. And this request has already become part of history.
