Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett arrived in Russia on Saturday to meet with President Vladimir Putin, breaking a sacred religious edict in the hopes of achieving peace.
The prime minister, who is Jewish, took off for Moscow early Saturday morning, a day when many Jewish people rest in observance of Shabbat. The two leaders engaged in conversations on Wednesday, and Bennett has also spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the phone since the conflict began, Bennett’s office said in a statement Saturday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the two discussed Ukraine.
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After the three-hour meeting with Putin, Bennett called Zelensky, a spokesperson confirmed. Immediately following his trip to Moscow, Bennett left for Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Bennett is Israel’s first Orthodox Jewish prime minister, and his decision to travel on Shabbat may in fact be allowed under Jewish law, which provides exceptions if traveling could save a life.
Another Jewish leader similarly broke protocol over the Russian invasion in Ukraine when the chief rabbi of Odessa, Ukraine, traveled Saturday to escort 250 orphans to safety.
“I told them that we are here to fulfill God’s will, and on this Shabbat, His will is for us to escape to save lives,” the rabbi said, according to lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky.
Chief Rabbi of #Odessa breaks Shabbat in order to bring 250 orphans from his city to safety in the midst of the ongoing violence in #Ukraine. “I told them that we are here to fulfill God’s will, and on this Shabbat, His will is for us to escape to save lives.” pic.twitter.com/2yhof9gQ9h
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) March 5, 2022
Other international leaders have violated norms in an effort to achieve peace. On Feb. 25, Pope Francis broke diplomatic protocol by leaving the Vatican to visit the Russian Embassy to the Holy See. Typically, ambassadors and diplomats are brought to the pope instead.
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Ukraine has implored nations around the globe to send assistance, and several Western allies have demonstrated solidarity with the invaded country. On Thursday, the Biden administration submitted a proposal to Congress seeking $10 billion in aid to Ukraine to complement last week’s release of $350 million in assistance. Nevertheless, the international community has been reluctant to deploy troops to Ukraine, as it is not a member of NATO.
Israel’s Embassy to the United States did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
