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February 16, 2001/Shevet 23, 5761, Vol. 53, No.20
Russian government lax about anti-Semitism
LEV GORODETSKY
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
MOSCOW - A popular Russian television anchor recently asked his viewers if they believe Jews use Christian blood to make matzo during Passover. The answers were split about 50-50, shocking the anchor. Perhaps a lot of viewers who don't believe this age-old anti-Semitic canard had neglected to call in, he surmised.
Or perhaps there's a simpler explanation - that anti-Semitism is still widespread in post-Communist Russia.
In any case, two recent reports by U.S.-based groups charge that the Russian government is not doing enough to combat anti-Semitism.
According to a report released recently by the Anti-Defamation League, many Russians see anti-Semitism as normal - and not particularly troubling.
Despite this, the only category of anti-Semitic incident that rose significantly in 2000 was personal harassment, according to the report. Six such cases were reported to the ADL, Jewish communities or law enforcement agencies in 2000, compared with only one case in 1999 - although other cases likely went unreported.
The other report, released by a group that monitors human rights in the former Soviet Union, is harsher in tone.
Although the number of violent incidents decreased in 2000, anti-Semitism is gaining ground in many parts of the former Soviet Union, according to a report released last Friday by the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews.
Whether aligned with Communist, neo-Nazi, Cossack or Russian Orthodox groups, anti-Semitic forces act with "near-complete impunity," according to the report, which looked at Russian anti-Semitism in 1999 and 2000.
Both reports agree: The Russian government does not adequately protect its Jews from anti-Semitic incidents.
Since Vladimir Putin became Russian president in late 1999, anti-Semitic activity has become more overt and active, says Alexander Axelrod, director of the ADL's Moscow bureau.
According to the UCSJ, the main threat to Russia's Jewish community currently comes from two sources - alliances that evolved under former President Boris Yeltsin between provincial officials and anti-Semitic groups, and the growing power of the security services under Putin.
Putin has made several public pronouncements in support of Russian Jews and launched a campaign against hate groups. But his government also has suppressed the media, human rights groups and environmental activists, which could lead to a "partial return of the threats" Russian Jews "faced in the Soviet Union," the UCSJ report says.
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