Soldier’s Jewish burial

A JEWISH Ukrainian soldier who died in battle against Russian forces nearly a year ago was given a proper Jewish burial in Kharkiv on Monday.

Ali Shabay was killed on May 23, 2022, in the village of Ternova, five kilometres from the Russian border. His body was found last week after months of searching.

Before heading out to fight, Shabay asked his family to ensure he received a Jewish burial if he fell, according to Kharkiv Rabbi Moshe Moskovitz.

Moskovitz, whose wife Miriam is from Sydney, conducted the burial service, accompanied by men from Kharkiv’s Jewish community.

At the outset of the war, Moscow saw Kharkiv as an enticing target, believing its mostly Russian-speaking population would welcome its troops as liberators. Though Russian forces briefly reached the city’s centre, by mid-May they had been driven back towards the border.

Still, Kharkiv continues to suffer from shelling and destruction is widespread in civilian areas.

Over Chanukah in December, Moskovitz visited military hospitals, handing out food to injured soldiers and thanking them for their sacrifice.

He was also on the lookout for wounded Jewish servicemen.

“We bring bread to every soldier before we even ask about Judaism,” he explained.

Moskovitz’s efforts paid off. He met a Ukrainian-Israeli who had been injured around Bakhmut, a city in Donetsk that is currently the scene of heavy fighting.

The rabbi also discovered another soldier whose Jewish wife is in Israel and whose daughter is currently serving in the IDF.

During one of Moskovitz’s Chanukah hospital visits, a Jewish soldier visiting wounded friends introduced himself and was given a menorah to take with him to the front.

To serve the needs of Ukraine’s many Jewish soldiers, Ukrainian armed forces Chief of Staff Valerii Zaluzhnyi appointed Rabbi David Milman last Thursday as the military’s chaplain to Jewish troops.

TIMES OF ISRAEL

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