The accord is aimed at expanding cooperation on combating xenophobia and anti-Semitism
Russia’s National Guard Service (Rosgvardia) and the country’s Federation of Jewish Communities have sealed a cooperation agreement, the law enforcement agency has announced. Such work is important in terms of ensuring inter-ethnic and inter-religious cohesion in the country, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
In 2020, Aleksandr Boroda, who has been the president of the Jewish federation since 2008, estimated that more than 200,000 active members of the community were living in Russia at the time.
A year later, The Jewish Agency for Israel, the largest Jewish non-profit in the world, put the number at 150,000.
On Tuesday, the national guard’s press office released a statement announcing the signing of the agreement. Representing Rosgvardia was its deputy chief, Aleksey Vorobyov; Boroda was the other signatory.
According to the national guard’s press office, the accord aims to deepen the partnership between the organizations in order to fight xenophobia and anti-Semitism.
Rosgvardia’s deputy chief argued that the “agreement will become another important step on the way toward strengthening inter-ethnic cohesion” in Russia.
The national guard’s press office noted that the recently-signed accord came as a result of Rosgvardia’s “systematic work on expanding” cooperation with the country’s various religious groups. Similar agreements were signed earlier this year with the Russian Orthodox Church as well as the country’s Muslim and Buddhist communities.
Following the start of Israel’s military operation in Gaza in the wake of Hamas militants’ deadly incursion into the Jewish State on October 7, 2023, there has been a spike of anti-Semitic attacks worldwide.
In Russia, the most high-profile case happened in Muslim-majority Dagestan on October 29, 2023. A large mob of anti-Jewish rioters broke through the security perimeter at Makhachkala International Airport and ran onto the tarmac. As it later transpired, they believed rumors which had been spread on Telegram and social media that a plane arriving from Tel Aviv was carrying “Jewish refugees.”
While the rioters failed to enter any aircraft, they did clash with security guards and police, causing extensive damage to the facility and paralyzing its operation for some time.
In February, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia warned of an increase in anti-Semitic attacks worldwide, with several NGOs and watchdogs in the US, Germany and France also reporting the worrying trend.
Israeli tactics in Gaza, which some have described as heavy-handed and indiscriminate, have prompted mass pro-Palestinian protests the world over, including in the US and Western Europe.
