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Former Moscow rabbi says he rebuffed mass conversion proposal discussed by Ehud Barak in Epstein files recording

JL;DR SUMMARY Revelations from newly released recordings of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in conversation with Jeffrey Epstein have sparked controversy in Israel. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Ehud BarakJewish LawIsraeli PoliticsImmigrationConversionOrthodox RabbinateJeffrey EpsteinMass ConversionPinchas GoldschmidtDemographic Strategy

Places mentioned

Moscow, Russian Federation
"The remarks drew sharp criticism from Pinchas Goldschmidt, who spent more than three decades leading Moscows Jewish community before leaving the country after Russias invasion of Ukraine in 2022."
Moscow, Russian Federation
"Vladimir Putin that Israel about this idea and joking about mixed Russian-Israeli names in the military as evidence of rapid integration."
Russian Federation
"those attitudes occasionally surfaced in direct encounters with Israeli political figures. He recalled a meeting with former Israeli minister Haim Ramon, who asked whether Orthodox rabbinical courts could convert large numbers of non-Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union."
Tel Aviv District, Israel
"and selective immigration with Jeffrey Epstein, disgraced financier and the convicted sex trafficker, the reaction in Israel was swift and deeply political."
Israel
"Baraks framing of conversion and immigration would be widely perceived in Israel as offensive."
United States
"The recordings, released this week as part of the U.S. Justice Departments latest disclosure under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, capture Barak in a wide-ranging conversation with Epstein, who died in federal custody in 2019."

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Retrieved 2026-02-09 05:31:08 UTC
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