Two rabbis, two worlds, two “values”: a draft dodger from the IDF against Russian missiles. Why the letters from Russia’s Lazar and Kyiv’s Markovich in “defense of the community” to the Israeli government cannot be compared.

At the beginning of December 2025, immediately 2 letters from Jewish spiritual leaders to the leadership of Israel became the focus of international news. The letters were written by the Chief Rabbi of Russia Berl Lazar and the Chief Rabbi of Kyiv Yonatan Markovich. Formally, both address the Israeli authorities. But the content of these appeals represents two different worlds, two different levels of threat, and two different understandings of what “protection of the Jewish community” means.

Rabbi Lazar defends a yeshiva student detained for evading service in the IDF.
Rabbi Markovich defends his community — from a terrorist country that strikes Ukraine with rockets and destroys everything around.

Berl Lazar: a letter that speaks more about Russia than about Israel

In a letter to the Minister of Defense of Israel Israel Katz, Lazar writes:

“When I heard about this, I was shocked”,
— commenting on the detention of a “Machon RAN” yeshiva student at Ben Gurion Airport.

According to the rabbi, the young man studied in Moscow for almost two years and flew to Israel to continue his studies. However, immediately upon arrival, he was sent to a military prison.

He further states:

“…, I could not imagine that in Russia they would arrest a yeshiva student for the ‘crime’ of studying the Torah and wanting to dedicate his youth to serving it”.

Lazar added that this news “confused” many members of the Moscow Jewish community, who are approaching religion and may repatriate to Israel in the future.

This sounds especially paradoxical, considering that Russia is a terrorist state that:

• unleashed a war against Ukraine,
• cooperates with Iran,
• arms terrorist groups,
• systematically violates human rights, including those of religious communities.

But Lazar, effectively acting as a representative of today’s ruling Russian regime, accuses Israel — a country that is at war and bears a heavy burden, protecting its citizens.

He writes:

“A person should not be arrested like the last criminal immediately upon entering the country”.

At the same time, he remains silent about the fact that Israeli soldiers serve for 200–300 days, being separated from their families, closing the front, protecting the country from real terrorists — not imaginary ones, but those supported by Russia.

Yonatan Markovich: a letter about how Russia threatens Jewish life

The Chief Rabbi of Kyiv Yonatan Markovich sent a completely different letter — to the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu.
His words are not about bureaucracy, not about a draft dodger, not about military rules, but a copy of the letter — to the two chief rabbis of Israel: Rabbi Kalman Bar-Mor and Rabbi David Yosef.

Markovich writes that Russia is striking Jewish sites in Ukraine and that the situation is becoming dangerous:

“The holy places of the Jewish people are not a battlefield”.

He asks Israel to use its influence to stop Putin’s attacks.

“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.”

Not to free someone from inconvenience.
Not to ease the procedure.
But to prevent the destruction of people and sanctuaries.

“As someone who stands at the head of the Jewish state and has a direct communication channel with the Russian leadership, I ask you to use all your influence and appeal to the Russian authorities 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.”

Under Markovich’s text is reality:
Russian missiles, drones, strikes on residential areas, shelling of cities where Jewish families live.

He speaks on behalf of a community living under terrorism — the terrorism of the Russian government and army.

A comparison that cannot be ignored

Rabbi Lazar

• writes that he is “shocked” by the arrest of a draft dodger;
• compares Israel to Russia, claiming that in Russia “this would not have happened”;
• defends a young man who refused to serve in an army fighting against terrorists;
• effectively repeats the logic of Russian propaganda about “Israel’s inhumanity.”

Rabbi Markovich

• appeals to Israel to prevent real strikes on Jewish sites;
• speaks on behalf of a country that loses people every day from Russian attacks;
• defends a community that the terrorist Russia is trying to destroy along with the Ukrainian people;
• reminds the world that it is not about procedures, but about life.

Quotes that show two different approaches

Lazar — on the detention of a draft dodger:

“I could not imagine that in Russia they would arrest a yeshiva student for the ‘crime’ of studying the Torah”.

“I have known Russia and the local Jewry for many years. I traveled to the Soviet Union on behalf of the Lubavitcher Rebbe during the times of communism, even before the fall of the Iron Curtain. Even then, and especially today, I could not imagine that in Russia they would arrest a yeshiva student for the ‘crime’ of studying the Torah and wanting to dedicate his youth to serving it,” he stated.

Markovich — on Russian terrorism:

“The holy places of the Jewish people are not a battlefield”.

Lazar — on the “inhumanity” of Israel:

“A person should not be arrested like the last criminal”.

“I hope a mistake occurred and you will allow the rabbis to visit the student and release him, giving him the opportunity to return to studying the Torah. In doing so, you will wash away the heavy stain that this story left in the hearts of the Moscow Jewish community,” concluded the Chief Rabbi of Russia.

Markovich — on the risk of destroying the Jewish community:

“Everything must be done to prevent these places from becoming a target”.

These two sets of quotes represent two different worlds.
One rabbi is concerned about the fate of a person who does not want to serve.
The other — about the fate of people who may die from a Russian missile.

Why this is important for the Jewish world and for Israel

This comparison is not about the personal qualities of the two rabbis.
It is about who is under threat and who creates this threat.

• Russia is a terrorist country that destroys cities, kills civilians, threatens Jewish sites, and supports anti-Semitic forces worldwide.
• Ukraine is a country that defends itself and in which Jewish life exists despite the strikes of terrorist Russia.

Lazar demands leniency for the draft dodger.
Markovich demands the protection of people.

The difference is between comfort and survival.
Between complaint and struggle.
Between an aggressor state and a state that holds back terror.

Question to readers

Do you think a rabbi who writes that “this would not happen in Russia” can truly speak about humanity — if his country destroys Ukrainian cities daily and puts Jewish communities at risk?

Do you think different Jewish communities — Russian, Ukrainian, and Israeli — can hear each other if each lives in its own reality of threats and expectations? And how to explain these differences without condemning people, but with a clear understanding of the actions of the terrorist state of Russia? Such a conversation is especially important today for those who follow the situation together with NANews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency.