Russia says American Chabad rabbi is security risk, orders him to leave

An American rabbi who has worked for the Chabad movement in Russia since 2002 said he and his family are facing deportation under a provision dealing with threats to national security.

Ari Edelkopf, a father of seven who grew up in Los Angeles and lived in Israel before settling in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi as Chabad’s envoy there, wrote on Facebook on Sunday that he was informed of the decision without receiving further information on specific allegations.

Amid a crackdown in Russia on organizations with foreign funding, Edelkopf’s staying permit was revoked in December, according to Interfax. He lost an appeal at the regional court, forcing him to leave Russia by February 11. He has denied any involvement in political issues or crimes.

The Chabad-affiliated Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia condemned the move. Boruch Gorin, a spokesman for the federation, said it was “far from an isolated incident,” during an interview with AFP. He added that at least seven rabbis have been forced to leave Russia in recent years for alleged immigration violations.

Gorin said this was “an attempt to establish control” over Jewish communities in Russia, which he said are serviced by some 70 rabbis, of whom half are foreign.

Separately, police arrested in Moscow the civil rights activist Mark Galperin on Tuesday morning on charges that he incited to extremism, the Kommersant daily reported. Galperin, who is Jewish, is accused of organizing unlicensed protest activities.

The federation and other Jewish groups have praised the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin, which critics accuse of fomenting xenophobia against Muslims and gays, for combating antisemitism and restituting Jewish property. At the same time, the federation has criticized expressions of antisemitism by officials, including from Putin’s party, and steps perceived as antidemocratic.

Last year, a court in the city of Cherepovets, 400 km. north of Moscow, scrapped the association known as the Jewish Community of Cherepovets from the national register of nonprofit organizations, citing its repeated failures to file the financial activity reports required of such groups by law, the Interfax news agency reported.

The federation said this was due to a technical issue, adding the community did not meet legal requirements expected of nongovernmental associations.

The previous year, Russia’s Justice Ministry placed a Jewish cultural association with ties to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee on its list of nongovernmental organizations defined as “foreign agents.”

The Hesed-Tshuva group, which is based in the city of Ryazan, located 190 km. south of Moscow, was placed on the list on September 11, 2015. ( JTA)