For many years, Yelena Rogelsky introduced herself as a Holocaust survivor.
Rogelsky said she was tattooed by the Nazis in Belarus and suffered many persecutions.
Two years ago, she even managed to convince the Family Court in Ashdod that her year of birth should be changed from 1944 to 1941, and thus receive a pension as a Holocaust survivor.
But it may not be true, and not only is she not a Holocaust survivor - she may not even be Jewish.
These days, an extraordinary case is being heard in the Rabbinical Court, backed up by a report by a Jewish investigator, which states that Rogelsky will lie for years: from the recognition of her as a Jew, through her presentation as a Holocaust survivor, to the present day.
Rogelsky told Israel Today yesterday in broken Hebrew that "God says I am Jewish," but that the court's examination is not at all certain.
In the coming days, the court is expected to make the decision on whether to deprive the elderly woman of her Judaism.
The suspicion of the professionals arose in 2020, when a verdict was published stating that she was a Holocaust survivor and that she would receive an annuity.
In a petition she then filed through attorney Jan Cormin, she noted that she had been stamped with the same number as that tattooed by her mother at a concentration camp in Belarus in 1941.
The judge, Anat Alfi, ordered that she change her year of birth and provide her with the benefits and compensation that the survivors of concentration camps receive.
But there was one problem with the petition, which triggered among the professionals on the subject of warning bells - no tattoos were done on Jews in Belarus at all.
Means of making a profit
In an opinion submitted to Mila Moskowitz, a former senior Interior Ministry official, historian Dr. Leonid Smilowitzky wrote that it was a lie.
"Such tattoos have never been done in the occupied territory of the USSR for Jews during the Holocaust. Rogelsky's things are an invention and a complete lie."
The Organization of Belarusian Expatriates also issued a letter protesting against the recognition.
"I would like to express my shock at the recognition of Yelena Rogelsky as a prisoner in the Pochowicz city ghetto. In Israel, Michael Alshansky.
An opinion from the comptroller of Judaism, Alexander Dan, states that not only is Rogelsky not a Holocaust survivor, she is not a Jew at all.
He examined her claims and stated that "she is a chronic liar and deceiver. Even in places where there is no need - she also lies," he wrote.
The "Seal" organization, which accompanies the affair, said that the truth is being published. ".
The management of the rabbinical courts stated: "The ruling has not yet been given, and therefore we will not be able to address the issue."
Advocate Jan Kormin, representing Rogelsky, said that "all the allegations made by the Jewish investigator and members of the Belarusian organization do not reflect the reality of her life.
The only fact is that she was born a Jew, lived as a Jew and would go to her world home as a Jew.
In 1992, Yelena proved that she was Jewish, and when proving her Jewishness, witnesses who were no longer alive testified.
Lilana has no doubt that she was born in 1941, so changing her age was an adjustment to the reality of her life. "
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we would love for you to share it with us