April 23, 2017, 21:06 / Politics

Anti-Semites have re-qualified themselves as nationalists

Anti-Semitism is on the decline, radicals are switching from Jews to migrants, Israeli experts have found out Elena Mukhametshina

In the post-Soviet space, experts note, there is a relatively low level of violent anti-Semitism / E. Shirinkina / for Vedomosti

The number of violent crimes motivated by anti-Semitism in the world decreased by 12% - from 410 cases in 2015 to 361 in 2016. This is stated in the report “Anti-Semitism in the World”, presented on Sunday at Tel Aviv University. In France, such cases decreased by 61%, in the UK - by 11%. According to Professor Dina Porat, the reason for the decrease in the number of violent crimes against Jews is due to increased security measures and improved coordination of the work of intelligence services. However, according to Porat, the number of offensive statements on the Internet has increased, which has become the main platform for anti-Semitism, as well as cases of desecration of cemeteries. According to a study by the World Jewish Congress, every 83 seconds in 2016, one anti-Semitic message was published on the Internet around the world.

One hundred years without the Pale of Settlement

Opinions / Analytics

The report also notes that the influx of immigrants to Europe has not affected the level of anti-Semitism as they try to organize a normal life in a new place. However, attention to migration issues in European countries has led to the strengthening of far-right and neo-Nazi movements. “Jews are no longer the main target of attacks, nationalism and racism in general are increasing,” explains Arie Zuckerman, chairman of the board of the Cantor Center at Tel Aviv University. Thus, in Germany, the number of attacks on Muslim communities has tripled - about 3,000 cases compared to about 1,000 cases in 2015, the report says: “The more acute the refugee crisis, the more aggressive the actions against immigrants will be, which threatens them with real reprisals, along with other minorities in general.” Representatives of right-wing movements that are strengthening their position in Europe try to avoid anti-Semitic statements, but the position of their leaders does not coincide with the anti-Semitic activities of their supporters, the authors of the document emphasize.

At the same time, experts note that the level of violent anti-Semitism is relatively low in the post-Soviet space. In Russia, it is widespread in the form of oral statements: in particular, the alleged Jewish origin of opposition representatives is often mentioned, the report says. In Ukraine, anti-Semitism mainly manifests itself in the form of attacks on Jewish shrines without a “proper reaction from the authorities,” as well as through the glorification of nationalist movements of the Second World War. At the end of 2016, the Levada Center, commissioned by the Russian Jewish Congress, prepared a study about the state of anti-Semitism in Russia. It follows that only 8% of Russians have a negative attitude towards Jews, but several levels of anti-Semitic aggression can be distinguished: a stable core of anti-Semites and xenophobes (8-16% of respondents), those who support anti-Semitic and xenophobic clichés (18-35%), and those who believe that Russians should have advantages over other nations or that the president should be Russian (40–65%). At the same time, anti-Semitism is very marginalized and concentrated on the periphery of civil and social life, and anti-Semitic stereotypes and clichés have significantly weakened, although they do not disappear from mass consciousness. Nevertheless, the “Jewish question” in Russia has lost its urgency and relevance, sociologists have stated.

Soon after this, at the beginning of 2017, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy, in one of his public speeches, mentioned those who “destroyed our churches by jumping out from behind the Pale of Settlement with a revolver in 1917.” His words were criticized by representatives of Russian Jewish communities.

The “Jewish question” in Russia has lost its former urgency

Politics / Social Policy

What Europe is going through now - the switch from Jews to migrants - happened in Russia 15 years ago, says SOVA Center director Alexander Verkhovsky: “The number of attacks [on Jews] in Russia has never been high, and in recent years there has been a decrease “Now it’s about five cases a year.” In addition, we and “them” have different carriers for anti-Semitism, he believes: “In Russia, these are people who consider anti-Semitism to be part of an ideological platform, who like to speculate about a global conspiracy. In Europe, part of the anti-Semites are people with far-right views, and the new anti-Semites are part of the Muslim activists for whom this topic is connected with Israel. In Russia, the Israeli issue as the main engine of anti-Semitism is certainly not in the first place in the Muslim community; for the ultra-right, Israel is not a topic at all.” Verkhovsky agrees with the conclusions of the report on Russia and Ukraine, although it is difficult to compare these countries: “Ukraine is a completely democratic state, there is no censorship there, even extreme groups are not limited, although, apparently, this is a temporary situation. In Russia, if someone like Tolstoy blurts out something, a scandal arises, since such expressions are rare and go beyond the established framework. But we cannot say that this is better than in Ukraine, since in Russia anti-Semitism in the mainstream is strictly censored, and it remains to be seen what politicians would say if this were not the case.”