Asher Joseph Cherkassky in Dneproperovsk in 2014. (Courtesy of http://evreiskiy.kiev.ua)
With his gray beard, AK-47 assault rifle and camouflage fatigues, Asher Joseph Cherkassky looks like an Eastern European version of Fidel Castro.
But Cherkassky’s look is no attempt to emulate the Cuban revolutionary or any of his bearded associates. Rather, it is the result of his being an Orthodox Jew who is also a fighter in the Dnipro Battalion — a Ukrainian paramilitary force tasked with blocking any Russian advance from the east.
Which is why online pictures of Cherkassky recently generated some buzz in social media: After all, an Orthodox Jew fighting …read more
Source: JTA
