About a week and a half after he was detained by the Ukrainian military, Breslov Hasid Yonatan Karlinsky has been located at a detention camp in the Odessa area, ahead of an assignment as a doctor in a military unit near the city of Kharkiv, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, or FJCU, said Wednesday.
Karlinsky, 49, a resident of Beitar Illit, is an Israeli citizen who was born in Ukraine. He traveled to Uman for Rosh Hashanah and, during a document check at the Romania-Ukraine border, it emerged that he was subject to mandatory military service.
He was detained on the spot by Ukrainian military police, and contact with him was subsequently lost.
His family appealed to numerous officials in an effort to secure his release, but without success because, as a native of Ukraine, Karlinsky is required to serve under Ukrainian law.
Hasidim in Uman on Rosh Hashana
(Photo: AFP)
Further checks also found that the claim that he was exempt from military service under Ukrainian law because he is the father of six children was incorrect, as he has only one daughter.
About a week ago, the Ukrainian military informed the federation, the umbrella body for Jewish communities in Ukraine, that Karlinsky was being held at a detention facility for deserters in Odessa.
Kosher food was provided to him and efforts were made to ensure that his rights were being respected, with the assistance of Chabad emissary to Odessa Rabbi Shneur Vigler and the city’s chief rabbi and chief rabbi of southern Ukraine, Avraham Wolff.
The organization told attorney Shlomo Haddad, who is handling the matter on behalf of Karlinsky’s family, that he would not be stationed in a frontline area where fighting is taking place, but rather at a rear base several dozen kilometers from the combat zone, where he will serve as a doctor.
It also said Karlinsky stated in a video sent by the military that he was in good condition and being treated fairly.
The federation said: “The fact that Karlinsky has medical knowledge, together with the Ukrainian military’s growing shortage of medical personnel, means the army needs him very much at this time and cannot release him.
“In addition, he served in the military in the past, before becoming religious and immigrating to Israel, and from their perspective he belongs to them.
“We made sure he had kosher food on weekdays, for last Shabbat, for the pre-fast meal before Yom Kippur and for breaking the fast. We also brought him a prayer book, and today he received the Four Species from us for Sukkot.”
Rabbi Meir Stambler, chairman of the Jewish communities in Ukraine, said: “Ukraine is engaged in a very difficult war against an aggressive enemy that for almost five years has been attacking people, buildings, schools, hospitals and more. People are being killed every day, so there is a severe manpower shortage. Every Ukrainian citizen is needed here, and therefore there is no possibility of obtaining exemptions.
“Compared with Israel, it would be like Hamas and Hezbollah invading the country and still not being pushed back after five years. This is truly a war for survival.
“At the same time, Ukraine is doing everything it can, and we are very grateful for its consideration of the needs of all religions and every soldier. Karlinsky said that for religious reasons he did not want to carry a weapon, and they accommodated him and assigned him as a doctor. Perhaps later we will be able to integrate him into the Ukrainian military rabbinate.”