ST. PETERSBURG — On Sunday George W. Bush became the first American president to visit a synagogue in Russia.

President Bush speaking with Rabbi Berel Lazar (left), Chief Rabbi of Russia, and Rabbi Mendel Pewzner (right), chief rabbi of St. Petersberg.

Accompanied by his wife, Laura, and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, Bush spent an hour — the meeting was originally scheduled to last 20 minutes — at St. Petersburg’s Choral Synagogue, where he met with Rabbi Berel Lazar, one of Russia’s two chief rabbis, Rabbi Mendel Pewzner, chief rabbi of St. Petersburg and several other Russian Jewish leaders.

When Bush’s entourage passed the synagogue’s ark, Rabbi Pewzner pointed to the dozens of Torah scrolls inside and told the president that some 25 years ago, when religious freedom seemed like a dream here, the Lubavitcher Rebbe had foretold that the day would soon come when the scrolls would be put to use openly by the Russian Jewish community.

Pewzner told The Jewish Press that Bush was visibly moved by the story and exclaimed, “He prophesied that way back then!”

Pewzner added that the president seemed very much at ease and appeared to be in an upbeat mood. “The fact that the visit was planned for just twenty minutes, but the president stayed for an hour, indicated to all of us that he felt he was among friends.”

President and Mrs. Bush asked the rabbis several personal questions, said Pewzner, “like how many children do we have, how old are they, and how do we manage to bring them up in this country, being that we are originally from Brooklyn.

As a further indication of the friendly atmosphere, Pewzner described how when his wife gave Mrs. Bush a gift, the president asked for a camera. “He himself wanted to take a picture as my wife was presenting the gift to his wife,” said Pewzner. “But he had trouble taking the picture, at which point he remarked, ‘I am so used to people photographing me all the time that I forgot how to take pictures myself.’ ”

As the president was signing the guest book, Rabbi Pewzner praised him for his staunch support of Israel and his efforts toward reducing the numbers of Russian and American nuclear weapons. He added that in Israel there was now a new type of weapon called suicide bombers.

The president immediately corrected him, saying, “These are called terrorists.”

Bush then stated that the Palestinians had missed their best chance, when his predecessor “almost worked out the kind of deal they never dreamed of, but they turned it down.”

Bush characterized Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as a “true friend, a man of his word. Whatever he says he’ll do, he delivers.”

Rabbi Lazar told The Jewish Press that he appealed to President Bush to ask the U.S. Congress to lift the restrictions imposed on Russia by the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment which conditioned trade concessions for the Soviet Union on a liberalization of emigration.

President Bush responded that he would raise the issue with Congressional leaders.

The president added that at this point in time, the reason for Jackson-Vanik not having been rescinded had less to do with Russian Jewry than it did with chickens.

Bush explained that Russia doesn’t want to buy chickens from the U.S. because the Russians feel that American chickens are not sanitary enough.

Rabbi Lazar responded, “Well, the best solution would be to send Russia kosher chickens,” which are healthy and sanitary.

The president broke out in hearty laughter.