The meeting of the Council of European Rabbis
The periodic convention of the Council of European Rabbis which opened this past Monday at the Victoria Olympia hotel in Minsk was designed to strengthen the Jewish community, its rabbis and institutions.
This assemblage follows the election of Trump as the new President of America and his election promises to deal with internal security and other interests of the U.S. The president of the Council and Chief Rabbi of Moscow, HaRav Pinchos Goldshmidt, said, "It is clear that in this new world setup, the U.S., which assumed protection over minority rights much more than other countries, will lower its profile in this area. The security of the Jewish greater community will depend upon the good will of each separate country independently, a situation similar to what was in the past. We must be prepared for a Europe without its protective American umbrella and deal with how Europe will relate to its Jews."
The participants were read a special letter from HaRav Aharon Leib Shteinman, HaRav Chaim Kanievsky and HaRav Gershon Edelstein.
The Director General of the Council reviewed the successful battle to preserve Jewish cemeteries in Algeria. It was also decided to continue dealing with the issue of those who died in Paris and whose remains have been stored in city warehouses for many years and to find an appropriate place to bury them where they will not be in danger of being dug up.
In the course of this congress, participating rabbonim will visit the graves of our great past leaders in Vilna, Radin, Mir, Volozhin, Kovna and at the mass gravesite of the Jewish martyrs at the Ninth Fort. They will pray for our yeshivos, our holy Jewish communities throughout Europe and for Klal Yisrael in Israel and throughout the Diaspora.
Letter from HaRav Shteinfeld shlita
