During his extensive end-of-year press conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin made significant accusations, including claims that certain individuals, among them “ethnic Jews,” are responsible for undermining the Russian Orthodox Church.
Putin claimed that the church was “being tortured” and pointed fingers at Jews, suggesting their involvement.
“These are people without kin or memory, with no roots. They don’t cherish what we cherish and the majority of the Ukrainian people cherish as well,” Putin said.
Subsequently, he noted that the purported adversaries of the church were neither adherents of Orthodox Christianity nor followers of Islam.
“These people that are attacking the church, they are not atheists,” said Putin. “They are absolutely faithless people, Godless people. Well, ethnically, many of them are Jews, but you haven’t seen them visit any synagogue.”
Furthermore, he criticized Israel for its military actions in Syria and the subsequent capture of Syrian territory after the Assad regime’s downfall. (No surprise there)
And let’s face it, it’s crucial to recognize the implausibility of Putin’s claim that his invasion of Ukraine was to de-Nazify the country. This assertion lacks credibility and has been widely dismissed by international observers, except for a small faction within MAGA circles of course.
Does he think we’re stupid?
And who is the real antisemite?
Putin has recently made several antisemitic statements and actions, marking a concerning shift in his rhetoric and policies towards Jews in Russia and abroad:
– Putin has made multiple antisemitic comments, particularly targeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
– He called Zelensky “a disgrace to the Jewish people” and questioned his Jewish origins
– Putin accused Western powers of installing Zelensky, “an ethnic Jew,” to cover up the “glorification of Nazism” in Ukraine
– He claimed that Zelensky’s Jewish identity was being used to conceal an “anti-human essence” in the Ukrainian state
Additionally, Putin mocked Anatoly Chubais, a former Kremlin adviser of Jewish descent, by referring to him as “Moshe Izrayilevich,” an antisemitic slur.
This marks a significant change in Putin’s previous approach. Historically, Putin refrained from using antisemitism as a political tool and even rebuked others who did. He had positive relations with Israel and some prominent Russian Jews and previously apologized for antisemitic remarks made by his officials.
His recent antisemitic rhetoric has raised concerns as critics compare Putin’s statements to Soviet-era antisemitism under Stalin, including the use of terms like “rootless cosmopolitan.”
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, former chief rabbi of Moscow, warned that Putin is reviving dangerous Soviet-era tropes, while the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry condemned Putin’s statements as a manifestation of “deep-rooted antisemitism of the Russian elites.”
Putin’s turn to antisemitism is seen as a sign of internal political stress and may indicate growing anxiety about the Kremlin’s grip on power.
Perhaps the rhetoric is part of a broader pattern of using ethnic and religious tensions for political purposes so there are fears that this could lead to increased antisemitism and potentially violence against Jews in Russia.
This shift in Putin’s rhetoric represents a concerning development, potentially fueling antisemitism in Russia and complicating international relations, especially regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.