Anti-Semitism in the anti-extremist brochure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

On January 21, 2009, it was reported that the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights had detected anti-Semitism in a brochure published by the All-Russian Institute for Advanced Training of Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

We are talking about a brochure by Evgenia Gerasimenko entitled "Extremism: the concept, socio-economic, political and historical causes of the phenomenon, trends in its development. Lecture", which was distributed in the fall of 2008 at a joint conference of the Department for Combating Extremism (MIA) and MBHR.

In the section devoted to Satanism, the IBHR staff found the following passage:

"Satanism, like Hasidism, grew out of Judaism, its secret savage and Kabbalistic sects. Until the 18th century, it developed as a secret Jewish sect, and then, spun off from Judaism, became one of the most influential currents of Freemasonry. The core of the rituals of satanic sects, as well as those that preceded them secret savage Jewish sects, there were bloody rites.

This illiterate discourse on history is remarkable not only for the clear influence of religious anti-Semitism, but also for the general alarmist approach to the subject, usually referred to as "religious extremism." The point is not only that Hasidism here is somehow related to extremism, but also that "Satanism" is a very heterogeneous concept that combines very different beliefs and practices, from socially dangerous to completely harmless (at least from the secular points of view).

In addition, the brochure says that punks, rappers and "other fans of Western music" can be considered extremists.

As stated in the annotation, the brochure was developed as a reference manual and a guide to action for the management and operational staff of the Center "T" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, specialized departments for combating terrorism and extremism, the ORB of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Federal District, the Organized Crime Control Department of the KM Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Central Internal Affairs Directorate, the Training Center in the subjects of the Russian Federation, special units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, anti-terrorist units of other countries. Thus, ridiculous or overly broad interpretations of extremism will become the basis for abusive law enforcement.

MBHR staff hope that the misunderstanding will be cleared up.

Sources

• Semyon Charny. Satanism as a Jewish sect // Jewish News Agency. 2009. January 21.