The problem

Kids in Sunday school learning chess.

I don't think I wrote about the crux of the problem, about the reason many shluchim feel threatened and several have left Russia temporarily.

I realized this after having a conversation with a friend of mine, who told me that while there was obviously either politics or anti-Semitism involved inmy case, Yisroel Silberstein was in the wrong in Vladivostok.

So here are the facts:

Yisroel had a problem with his registration before. This courtcase was about his visa (and the visa upon which most shluchim are on).

If you go back in my blog to the beginning of our shlichus here, you'll read how Russia made some new rules. Previously (before 2008 I think), you can get a 1 year working visa, or a 1 year cultural visa and everything would be ok.

The new rule was probably backed by Russian nationalists who wanted to keep Russian jobs to Russians and not foreigners. It stipulated that that the maximum a visa can be made is for 3 months (with few exceptions).

When everyone started scrambling to get permanent residency (another thing I wrote about in the blog perhaps a year back), they added a law that only about a thousand people per year are allowed to get permanent residency in each province (Stavropol alone has several thousand applicants). This is aside from all the tedious and expensive paperwork that must be done in order to secure the possibility of permanent residence. Of course, they could refuse your application in the blink of an eye (as they did to Yisroel a while back).

Anyway, most of the Rabbis in Russia are in Russia on cultural visas.

The reality is that we should be there on religious visas, since that is our work. I tried to get one, but Russia doesn't recognize the word 'Rabbi' as a religious figure, so unless you're a priest you can't be a Rabbi (I think I wrote bout this previously).

Cultural work is the closest thing to what we do...

Anyway, Yisroel was brought to court because he was on a cultural visa and yet was doing religious work. They proved this by showing the letter from Rabbi Lazar stating that he was Rabbi of the city, and by showing proof that he was organizing Minyanim to pray, and reading from the Torah.

They claim he should have procured a RELIGIOUS visa since he wasn't doing cultural work.

See the problem?

The government made it that as soon as a Rabbi comes into Russia, he's already doing something illegal. Therefore, almost all the Rabbis in Russia are under threat.

I'm really upset about this. I love Russia, Russian people, and particularly Russian Jews, but this is annoying.

I have been contacted by several newspapers and radios, but since my goal is to return to Stavropol and I have been advised to keep quiet so as not to jeopardize my chances, I refused interviews.

But I'm angry.

I don't understand the gag order (I undersand it as it pertains to my returning to Stavropol, but not in the overall picture).

There is a story of (I think) the Mitteler Rebbe (2nd Chabad Rebbe). The Russian authorities called a meeting of all the Rabbis in Russia and then told them that they wanted the Rabbis to tell the world media that everything is great for the Jews in Russia, and that our people are being treated very well. If they don't make such a statement, then pogroms are sure to happen.

While most Rabbis agreed immediately, the Mitteler Rebbe threw a fit. He said no way. There is no proof that otherwise there won't be pogroms anyway, we cannot lie to the world (remember this was at a time when Jews were actually persecuted in Russia. Today B"H everything is fine).

The pogroms never took place, neither did the statement (though the Mitteler Rebbe probably suffered from it).

I think this may be similar. There is gross injustice here. Shouldn't we be publicizing it? won't the pressure probably accomplish more than trying to work silently without ever getting anything solid proving that we can return and all will be good.

I understand why I shouldn't be going to the press, but I just needed to vent.

Excuse me.