Russian antisemitism on the rise. Local Jewish leaders keep silent
Russian Jewish leaders such as Chief Rabbi Lazar were loyal to the ruling regime in Russia for the last 23 years. However, it’s not helping them to stop the rising wave of antisemitism that is going through the country.
In connection with Israel’s war against Hamas, anti-Israeli actions have intensified all over the world, which in some places have become antisemitic. Russia is no exception, where the local population in Southern regions unequivocally responded to Hamas’ call for war with Jews and Israelis. So, residents asked to evict Jews from Karachay-Cherkessia. Five hundred people demanded that the provincial government “get rid of the Jews living in the region because other Jews are fighting in Israel for their country,” – Russian media reported. However, officials say it is impossible to evict anyone using legal methods.
At the same time, in Dagestan, a crowd gathered near the Flamingo Hotel in Khasavyurt. The police told them that there were Muslims there, but people didn’t believe them and said that there were Jews inside the hotel. The crowd demanded to expel them from the territory of the republic.
Today, the building of the new Jewish cultural center was set on fire in Nalchik (Kabardino-Balkariya, Russia). According to residents, someone threw burning tires into the building under construction. Also on the wall appeared the inscription “Death to the Yahud.” Yahud means Jew in Arabic.
Also, I’ve received information from the ex-member of the Russian Jewish community that today’s flight from Tel-Aviv to Makhachkala (Republic of Dagestan, Russia) will be awaited by the crowd that is willing to prevent the entering of Israeli citizens (and Jews) the Dagestanian soil. According to the Dagestanian group in Telegram messenger “Morning of Dagestan” (53 812 subscribers), they will wait for a plane in the Makhachkala airport and force the plane crew to fly away.
In turn, the co-chairman of the Union of Writers of Russia, Vladimir Krupin, stated that: “The Jews received Birobidzhan (the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia, located on the Trans-Siberian Railway, near the China–Russia border). Beautiful Siberian lands from which the native inhabitants were expelled.” Basically, he accused Jews of expelling native Sibereans from their homes. However, this is not true because the Russian Empire colonized these lands of Siberia back in the sixteenth century, which led to massive casualties among native tribes living in that area.
Thus, we are witnessing an unprecedented increase in anti-Israel and anti-Jewish movements and statements in Russia. It is evident that without the Kremlin’s permission, no one would allow mass gatherings in regions with such barbaric intentions. Usually, such gatherings are brutally dispersed by the Russian riot police.
In Ukraine, unlike its northern neighbor, the pro-Israeli position prevails. This position has been formed in Ukraine because the country has been experiencing similar cruelty over the past two years, and many Ukrainian citizens have relatives and friends who live in Israel and are familiar with the situation and its causes from the inside.