Ukrainian Army Drafts Israeli Breslov Hasid, Provides Holiday Items

Yonatan Karlinsky, a Breslov Hasid with dual Israeli-Ukrainian citizenship, who was conscripted into the Ukrainian army, received the "Four Species" (etrog, lulav, hadassim, aravot) needed to observe the Sukkot holiday. The items were delivered to him on Thursday at a detention facility near Odessa, where he is currently held.

Karlinsky, 49, was detained at the Romania-Ukraine border while traveling to Uman for Rosh Hashanah. Upon discovering he was subject to conscription, he was assigned as a doctor in Kharkiv. His family, who reside in Beitar Illit, Israel, had appealed for his release, but Ukrainian law requires his service as he was born in Ukraine. Claims that he was exempt as a father of six were found to be incorrect; he has one daughter.

Despite efforts by community activists to prevent his conscription, Karlinsky was not sent to the front lines due to his medical background. He was instead placed in a rear-echelon unit as a military doctor. He is reportedly the only ultra-Orthodox Jew detained in the current conscription wave, though Ukrainian authorities have intensified enforcement against all draft-eligible citizens.

Rabbi Avraham Wolff, the chief rabbi of Odessa and Southern Ukraine, has been providing Karlinsky with support, including kosher food and spiritual assistance. Rabbi Wolff arranged for the delivery of the "Four Species," including an etrog from Kfar Chabad, to ensure Karlinsky could fulfill the holiday commandment while in detention.