The Chief Rabbi of Ukraine, Moshe Reuven Azman, is a truly remarkable figure. Born in Leningrad one of the capitals of the former USSR – the same city as Vladimir Putin – he emigrated from behind the Iron Curtain in the 1980s before later returning to Ukraine.
Over the past 30 years, Azman first led the Jewish community of Kyiv, then later broader Jewish communities across Ukraine. During Russia’s full-scale invasion, he has been active with humanitarian and diplomatic missions – visiting Washington, bringing the world’s attention to the consequences of Russian aggression directly from the ground, as well as from front-line towns and places under fire.
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One of the Rabbi’s children was killed in the war and posthumously awarded the Order for Courage.
In our interview, we discuss it all: KGB persecution during Soviet times, the growth of the Ukrainian Jewish community, the urgent need for the world to support democratic Ukraine in its fight against totalitarian Russia, and Ukraine as a homeland for hundreds of thousands of Jews.
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Rabbi, you’ve become a legendary figure in Ukraine. In your involvement in supporting Ukraine, you lost your son in the war and recorded a powerful song calling on President Trump to support Ukraine. How long have you been in Ukraine, and how long have you been a chief rabbi?
I was born in 1965 in Leningrad, the same town where Putin was born, in the Soviet Union. In 1987, I left the USSR and moved to Israel. Putin was in the KGB, who investigated me because I didn’t agree with Soviet lies. I was young; I was a member of different social movements – the Jewish movement. I wasn’t involved in politics, so they didn’t put me in prison, but I was active in religious movements. And I wanted to leave the Soviet Union.
I lived in Israel, in Canada, and I never expected to be back in the USSR, but God had other plans. In 1995, I came here – my wife is from Kharkiv. At that time, I was a participant in the Chabad Chernobyl Childrens Program. We evacuated children from areas affected by the Chornobyl disaster – Ukraine, Belarus, Russia – and brought them to Israel for healing. Thousands of children.
After 1991, Ukraine became an independent, democratic, and free country. I came here, and I didn’t expect to see what I saw – it changed my mind.
What did you find? Was there an active community?
It was different. The community had just begun to recover from Soviet times, and they asked me to help them. They returned the Brodsky synagogue (the central Kyivan synagogue, which had been confiscated by the Soviets and turned into a workers’ club).
So, I came here in 1995 and became chief rabbi in 2005. At that time, there were about 300,000 Jews in Ukraine, but the community has become larger. Many emigrated at the start of Russia’s full-scale war, so now we have half that number.
During Soviet times, it was prohibited to practice religion. Many people were imprisoned for their faith, and they were disconnected from their roots. Now in Kyiv alone, we have two large synagogues and five smaller ones. We also have communities in Dnipro, Odesa, and Lviv. I cannot count the exact number, because many Jews are serving in the army, and many have become refugees.
This war has changed the face of the Jewish community in Ukraine. When I saw the beginning of this war, I told myself that I had to be here with the people. Those were dangerous times, and they continue to be so. I had an opportunity to help people, to save them. At the beginning of the war, I brought 500 paramedic bags from Israel. I gave them to people, to the army, in many places. After that, I received a lot of feedback that they saved lives – hundreds of lives. That made me happy.
You were involved in helping people from the beginning, and more recently, you lost a member of your family – one of your sons – on the front line; he was posthumously awarded an Order of Courage.
It was my son, Matityahu – Anton – an adopted son. He was adopted when he was 10 years old.
He lived in our family; he was a quiet and good guy. His mother was Jewish, and she passed away. He was mobilized to the army in May 2024 and killed in July 2024. Now, a year later, his wife and I received a message from the army that he was awarded the Order. His commander gave a speech and said he was a hero. I was so proud because I didn’t know the whole story. For a long time, we didn’t know what exactly had happened. This war is evil.
You’ve recorded a song that is just out—you’re urging Trump and the world to fight for Ukraine, and not only.
It’s not only a song – it’s my appeal. I have songs mostly in Ukrainian, but we also have a channel, Anatevka-TV, about Anatevka, where you can find more. It’s from Shalom Aleichem. We started a settlement – Anatevka – for the first Jewish refugees, from Donetsk and Luhansk following the 2014 annexations. We have trucks to bring aid, and ambulances.
Yes, the last song – God gave me the idea to call on Donald Trump. If it comes from your heart, it will reach another heart. After what happened in Kyiv last week [massive ballistic strike] the next day I visited the site, saw a lot of destruction and wounded people there. And I decided to do it NOW! Our team made a good music clip.
Thank you for doing it. The war is still continuing. Where do you find the energy to make it through?
From God. I pray every day and study Torah, and I try to do a lot of deeds. We post all our efforts on social media – not for publicity, I don’t need that. Just to show people: join us in what we do, join our work, help us, DO SOMETHING. Not only for civilians, but also for soldiers – they were civilians just yesterday.
What are your relations with other religious movements? Muslims? Christians?
We have good communication with all religions – we all live peacefully in Ukraine. I personally know a sheikh, leaders of all Christian denominations and churches. A very good example occurred several weeks ago, I invited Pastor Mark Burns [Trump’s spiritual advisor]. I met him several times in the USA, we became friends, and I invited him to come to Ukraine. He didn’t know exactly what Ukraine was. But he came. I didn’t plan it from the beginning, but we visited Bucha and met with the leaders of all Christian denominations in Ukraine. They showed him everything happening here – they brought and showed him documents.
We hope he will tell VP Vance that this is a tragedy, not just “political tourism”…
If I had an opportunity to meet with Vice President Vance or President Trump, I would say that I can be a witness – because I am a witness. Anatevka, where I was, is very close to Bucha and Irpin. We evacuated people under shelling. And I was in Bucha after its liberation by the Ukrainian army, and it was so… But it would be better for them to come here and see everything with their own eyes.
How do you see your public mission now?
From the beginning of the war, I saw that it was so important to show the truth. Before the war, I was a quiet man. I didn’t like to give interviews. But it’s so important to bring the truth out during the war, because no Ukrainians, no Jews, no Russians – nobody called the Russians “denazifiers” here.
Also, people need the message that the truth will win despite all the darkness, and that all will be okay. And I see how much people need this. It takes a lot of time to bring the truth to people – but it’s my work. King David said that sometimes you have to put the Torah aside and help people with your hands.
What is your message, as a rabbi, to the outside world?
We have an AXIS of evil countries: Russia, Iran, North Korea, and their satellites like HAMAS, Hezbollah, etc. They want to kill and destroy. Therefore, the free world must stay united and help Ukraine. Help the Ukrainian people, who live here every day under drone attacks, missile attacks. I see it. I’m here, trying to help them. In addition, all good people must help Ukraine.
We have to fight in the name of light. Even a little light can dispel a lot of darkness.
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