President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.
I am delighted to see you.
First of all, I would like to ask you to convey my very best wishes to Alexander Trufanov, our citizen, and his loved ones in connection with his release from captivity. I would like to say that this was made possible, among other things, thanks to the consistent policy of the Russian Federation on the Middle East settlement, which inspires confidence on the part of many of our partners in the region, and, of course, thanks to the goodwill of the Hamas leadership. I know that he had much to endure, but he and the entire family have safely navigated that period. Thank God he is at home with his family.
Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar: I just met with him a couple of days ago, on Sunday. It is hard to find words to express our gratitude to you. His mother and he asked me to convey their immense gratitude to you, including for the way you treated his case. All the time they knew that you personally thought about him and even the President of Israel sent you a letter to thank you for your involvement.
We always say that whoever saves a life saves the world. I remember the first time we met when you served as the Prime Minister. Later, you attendance at the opening of a community centre changed everything.
Unfortunately, the first years after perestroika were hard for the Jewish community here. We felt anti-Semitism, and there was chaos and destitution, both financial and spiritual. People were at a loss and confused. Without a doubt, the fact that you showed the importance of eternal values, that you supported traditional values gave a new powerful boost to the community.
Today, thank God, the Jewish community in Russia is making incredibly great strides, much is being built, and new youth programmes are becoming available. You can see people drawn to it. When we look at what is happening in Europe with its anti-Semitism, degradation, and liberalism, it is all because they do not have these values. And I think people look at you today and realise that you were right. There are already leaders who say that there is a father, there cannot be Parent 1 and Parent 2. People realise that these values, family values are critically important.
Vladimir Putin: For my part, I would like to thank you for your active involvement in civic society in our country and your contribution to the Museum of Tolerance. I think it turned out to be a very good institution of a purely humanitarian, distinctly humanitarian nature. This museum is of interest not only for members of the Jewish community, but for our citizens of other religions and ethnicities. The museum engages in substantial and holistic activities which are also interesting from a cultural point of view.
Berel Lazar: The most interesting part is to watch children come and watch. For them, it represents a new understanding of how to be friends, and that we are all together, only together. Russia rallied around spirituality, around God. This is a special moment. We see people being drawn to it and longing for it. It is a miracle for us to see it here, where, before, the state, unfortunately, did not realise how important it is. And in your person everything became different.
Very often I tell people that they will not forget how things were 25 years ago. People always want more. We also want more and are never satisfied with what we have. We want to build more and to do more. We want every city to have such a centre. If there is a museum, a community centre, a cultural centre, it is very important. It is not just for Jews, it is for everyone. Our doors are open to anyone. And we can use this to really change people’s lives.
Vladimir Putin: That is what we will do, work together. Thank you.
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