Anti-Semitism is mounting in Russia. The government seeks to use the ethnic component to get the people off social and economic woes, triggered by the Putin regime in the military field, political arena, and economy.
It has become risky to exploit hateful rhetoric towards Ukrainians, as the war crimes by Russian troops in Ukraine were disclosed. With the Kremlin seeking to stick on to that narrative, there is further evidence that not only did it know but authorized or encouraged the war crimes by its troops. That is why the Russian propaganda returned to the well-covered topic of Jewish threat that practically did not stray from the local information programs, being part of comedy shows, as a rule.
Russian Ministry of Justice filed a lawsuit demanding to close the Jewish Agency for Israel office in Russia. Moscow believes the agency’s activity is harmful, as the JAFI is luring the intellectuals to leave for Israel. Russia, therefore, is bringing back the anti-Semitic narrative by the Soviet Union. That will deterioratethe condition of the Jews in Russia. The Kremlin seeks to back-pedal the repatriation of Jews who still remain in Russia and are waiting for the papers to be approved.
With elements of neo-Nazi policy in Russia, there is a potential risk of the Holocaust to repeat.
Surprising is the fact that even Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany faction in German Bundestag has reacted to the JAFI situation in Russia with fear. The party speaker Juergen Braun said the decision by the Russian government was an unprecedented and bold move, dictated by fear. As Russia invaded Ukraine, the number of Jews considering emigration has increased, he says.
According to MEP Petras Auštrevičius, persecution of the Jewish Agency by the Russians is a sensitive issue for the Jewish history and the history of the Holocaust. He claims that hundreds of thousands of Jews live in Russia, and their office is there for the repatriation to go on. The JAFI case is a very bad message of anti-Semitism in Russia, therefore. The Kremlin is spinning a handwheel of chauvinism that becomes the bedrock for its policy, and for the people to consolidate around the Putin regime.
Michael Gahler, representing Germany in the European Parliament, shares that view. He believes anti-Semitism has always been characteristic to Russia and called the Russian government fascist.
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We believe the situation with the Jewish Agency for Israel may not result in the closure of its office in Russia. Moscow is unlikely to confront Israel so seriously. But there is a good chance the anti-Jewish sentiment in Russia is yet to mount further. That will rise from hateful propaganda against various ethnic groups, used by the Kremlin to substitute oppositional anti-Putin sentiment inside Russia and minimize civil clashes in the country (including ethnically motivated).
