Israeli-Ukrainian Man Drafted into Ukrainian Army as Doctor

A 49-year-year-old Breslov Hasidic man from Beitar Illit, Israel, who also holds Ukrainian citizenship, was arrested at the Ukraine-Romania border about a week and a half ago while returning from Uman. Yonahtan Karlinsky was detained by Ukrainian military police because he is subject to conscription under Ukrainian law. He is currently being held in a detention camp near Odessa and is expected to be assigned as a doctor to a military unit in the Kharkiv region.

The Federation of Jewish Communities in Ukraine (FJCU) reported that Karlinsky, originally from Ukraine, traveled to Uman for Rosh Hashanah. Upon document inspection at the border, it was discovered he was obligated to serve in the Ukrainian army. His family's attempts to secure his release have been unsuccessful, as he is a Ukrainian national subject to mandatory service. Reports that he was exempt due to having six children were incorrect; he has only one daughter. The FJCU stated that his assignment as a doctor aligns with his civilian profession and that he will likely serve in a rear base, not on the front lines.

Karlinsky's lawyer, Shlomo Hadad, has been updated that Karlinsky is in good condition and is being treated fairly, according to a video he sent. Chabad emissaries in Odessa and the chief rabbi of the city and southern Ukraine, Rabbi Avraham Wolff, have provided Karlinsky with kosher food, prayer books, and the Four Species for Sukkot. The FJCU confirmed that his rights were considered during his detention.

Rabbi Meir Stambler, chairman of the FJCU, explained that Ukraine is in a difficult war and faces a severe personnel shortage, making exemptions impossible. He noted that Karlinsky previously served in the Ukrainian army before becoming religious and moving to Israel, and thus is considered by the army to belong to them. Stambler added that Karlinsky expressed a religious objection to bearing arms, and the army accommodated this by assigning him as a doctor, with a possibility of future integration into the military rabbinate.