Russia’s Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar has urged world leaders to unite against terrorism in response to the tragedies in Ankara and Berlin, InterFax reported Tuesday.
“The terrorists are trying to impose their agenda and language on the world, focusing on no negotiations, no value for human life, and murder and intimidation,” Rabbi Lazar stated, suggesting that “the answer to these monstrous crimes, which places them outside the realm of civilized relations, must be to bring together the world’s leaders in the fight against terrorism.”
According to the chief rabbi, regardless of whether those terror attacks were coordinated or done based on individual whim, they showed that terrorism and extremism were “the number one danger in the world today.”
“There should be no safe harbors for the terrorists and their coordinators,” Rabbi Lazar concluded. “Our tolerance only inspires them to commit new bloody crimes.”
A native of Milan, Italy, Rabbi Shalom Dovber Pinchas Lazar grew up in the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, beginning his service in Russia in 1990. In 2000 he became Chief Rabbi of Russia, and chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia and Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS. In September 2005 Lazar became an original member of the 168-member Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation which analyzes draft legislation and monitors Russia’s parliament and government. Rabbi Berel Lazar is known for his friendship with President Vladimir Putin.
