Rabbi Zushe Abelsky, head of Chabad in Moldova, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Axelrod has unofficially served as the country’s chief rabbi for the past decade. Most of his children were born in the country, and, according to Abelsky, he is “a very well-known figure in the community” whom “everyone loves.”
Axelrod was elected by representatives of all branches of Judaism in Moldova. Following the ceremony on Wednesday, August 12, he will represent the country’s Jewish community in international and legal matters.
The last person to hold the position of Chief Rabbi of Moldova was Abelsky’s father, whom the Lubavitcher Rebbe sent to this European country in 1990 to revive Jewish life there. Rabbi Zalman Abelsky served as Chief Rabbi until his death in 2014.
