Anti-Semitic protests in North Caucasus shocked chief rabbi of Russia

Neither the authorities nor the spiritual leaders of the North Caucasus condemned the riots at the Makhachkala airport and other anti-Semitic protests in the region, said Chief Rabbi of Russia Berl Lazar. He expressed fears for the fate of his co-religionists in the south of the country, stating that in the North Caucasus “something has really changed, and not for the better.”

The Jewish community of Russia is greatly alarmed by anti-Semitic protests in the North Caucasus, fearing for the lives of their peers in the region, said the country's chief rabbi Berel Lazar. “Literally hundreds of people ask me this question every day,” RBC quotes him as saying today.

“As the spiritual leader of the community, I must take responsibility for their fate. And for this I must understand what kind of work is actually being done to isolate and eliminate extremist forces in the region,” the rabbi explained, noting that the riots at the Makhachkala airport “cause shock."

Lazar expressed outrage at the reluctance to act of authorities at all levels, which do not seek to stop the propaganda of hatred in the country, and in particular, the lack of response from the spiritual leaders and elders of the North Caucasus to anti-Semitic acts of violence. “There are not even apologies from anyone in the Caucasus,” he emphasized.

The rabbi refused to consider the series of incidents in the region as political actions condemning Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip, since the actions of the rioters were aimed at people who “have no relation to Israel.”