Translated material
Hamas or Sputnik & Pogrom: Center “E” has come to the Zionists
The statements of the leader of the Moscow Zionist organization Shahar, Alexander Kargin, are being tested for incitement to hatred. Kargin claims that they tried to plant anti-Semitic literature on him, but it turned out not to be banned. Operatives are interested in his actions for banning Hamas in Russia, studying posts in social networks and speeches.
Shabbat failed
It will be known in September whether a criminal case will be opened against Alexander Kargin, the leader of the Moscow-based Zionist Shahar movement. Igor Zuber, a lawyer and associate of Kargin, told OVD-Info about this.
“Shabbat didn’t work out for me from the very morning. They called from the Choral Synagogue and said that the police had come there and asked me to come. Upon arrival, it turned out that there would be a survey of the premises in which I visit. It seems like operational information was received that I, they say, am engaged in extremist activities, ”this is how Kargin described the inspection of the premises, which was carried out on August 10 by operatives of the Center “E” from the Department of Internal Affairs of the Central Administrative District.
Zuber told OVD-Info that the police did not disclose from whom the application was received against Kargin, but for some reason the Central Administrative District Department of Internal Affairs took this statement seriously.
Shahar's office is located on the premises of the Moscow Jewish Religious Community, which shares the building with the Choral Synagogue. The Zionist right-liberal movement "Shahar" (translated from Hebrew - "dawn") was created by Kargin in 2011. Shahar aims to strengthen the national identity of Russian Jews. He organizes self-defense and Hebrew courses, holds national and religious holidays, public and political debates and actions in support of Israeli policy.
Russian and Arab anti-Semites
Zuber emphasizes that there are no video cameras in Shahar's office, a large circle of people have access to it. Therefore, the lawyer is sure that the books found in the office were planted on Kargina on the eve of the arrival of the police.
Employees of Center "E" found there a stack of anti-Semitic publications like "The Final Solution to the Jewish Question" and "The Russian Answer to the Jewish Question." As Zuber points out, none of these books appear to be on the Federal List of Extremist Materials. Some of the works were previously banned, but not in the editions found in Shahar.
It is not necessary for a book to be on the federal list in order to initiate a criminal case. Found books, the police can send for examination and initiate their ban. However, Kargin says that Center E has no complaints against him regarding anti-Semitic literature.
Alexander Kargin told OVD-Info that in addition to anti-Semitic literature, he was planted a book by the Jewish author Markus Lehman " Forcibly Baptized ". It is included in the federal extremist list, although the Russian edition of this book was edited by Borukh Gorin, press secretary of the country's chief rabbi, Berl Lazar.
"The book has been taken away. As I understand it, there are no complaints against me, but the synagogue received a presentation from the prosecutor's office. For possession of extremist literature. I don’t really understand the logic of their actions: to give an idea to the country’s main synagogue for this is nonsense,” says Kargin.
A few days later, on August 14, for an hour and a half, the police interrogated Kargin at the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Central Administrative District. It turned out that the operatives are interested in his statements: 20-30 of them are now being checked for incitement to hatred. In September, according to the police, the check should be completed. We can talk about both posts in social networks and recordings of Kargin's public speeches. According to Zuber, it is not known what exactly they are checking. This, according to the lawyer, is a procedural trick: so that the defense does not start preparing an alternative examination of the “statements” in advance.
Zuber notes that during the interview, operatives were particularly interested in Shahar's 2016 actions to ban Hamas from Russia. Then Shahar held street actions, created a petition on Change.org and sent its demands to the Prosecutor General's Office. The Prosecutor General's Office promised to give an answer, but so far it has not followed.
Zionist activities
Kargin named OVD-Info the possible reasons for his troubles: “There is a version that what is happening is an indicator of a general tightening in the country. It's not just Jews who are under pressure, it's happening on many fronts. But over the past year and a half, about six rabbis have been deported from Russia. Well, there is always friction within the community, I do not exclude this option.”
Judging by the texts of Kargin available online, it is difficult to call him a radical.
“Islamophobia is simply a fruitless exercise. Yes, terrorists must be destroyed, there should be no talk here. With normal people who are ready for dialogue and recognize our right to opinion, we need to talk and, as far as possible, convince them that we are right. Caricatures, abuse, ridicule, sweeping judgments, constant emphasizing the negative sides of the Islamic world are not effective and do not lead to anything good. The task of everyone who cares about the future of Europe, Israel, Russia, the entire civilized world is to establish contact with adequate Muslims,” Kargin writes about the relationship between Muslims and Jews.
Last year, Shahar, with the support of the Israeli embassy, began negotiations with the Young Guard of United Russia on the creation of a special Russian-Israeli structure that will deal with preferential tourism and educational programs and internships for young Russians in Israel.
Shahar stands for dialogue between Russian Zionists and Russian nationalists. Representatives of the movement published on the popular ultra-right resource Sputnik and Pogrom (the Sputnik and Pogrom website is available through anonymizers - OVD-Info ). in Shahar's pro In 2011, representatives of the National Democratic Alliance took part -Israel actions; later they traveled to Israel to negotiate with Jewish politicians.
The National Democratic Alliance has positioned itself as a moderate Russian nationalist organization, but its leaders have a radical background. Aleksey Shiropaev was a leading contributor to the far-right publications Atenei and Ya Russkiy. Ilya Lazarenko headed the quasi-religious association of the Sacred Church of the White Race, which praised Adolf Hitler. Ilya Lazarenko is probably the first person in Russia convicted (in 1997) under the famous Article 282 of the Criminal Code for inciting ethnic hatred.
Shahar arranges debates several times a year. The debates discussed global issues related to migration, the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, the role of women in Judaism, the problems of the Jewish Autonomous Region, etc. Well-known representatives of the Russian Jewish community spoke at them, and Russian nationalists were also invited there.
“I assume that by organizing public debates Kargin crossed the border of the ghetto reserved for Jewish public associations. "Shahar" by default should have been engaged in ethno-cultural projects. Anyone who is not under the direct control of the state is prohibited from approaching public politics, ”Lazarenko commented on the pressure on Kargin in a conversation with OVD-Info.
OVD-Info did not receive a response from the press service of the Moscow Central Internal Affairs Directorate about the reasons for the inspection against Kargin.
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