'...there is zero tolerance with regard to anti-Semitism here in Russia': Russian chief rabbi Berel Lazar
Feb. 8, 2024
On February 7, Vladimir Putin met in the Kremlin with the Chief Rabbi of Russia Berl Lazar and the President of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia Alexander Boroda.
According to the Chief Rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar, the main topic of the conversation was the situation in the Middle East:
“The President unequivocally stated that he intends to use all his influence, all his connections so that the hostage problem is resolved in the very near future . ”
They also discussed the issue of the release of Alexander Trufanov, who is still being held hostage:
“The President has his finger on the pulse. He has all the information about the hostages who have Russian citizenship, there are three of them, Alexander Trufanov is only one of them. But also, which, in my opinion, is very important, the president said that he would do everything to free those people who suffered during the Holocaust. I felt that this really bothered him: after all, Russia played a central role in rescuing Jews from Nazi death camps.”
In the end, the topic of the development of the Federation of Jewish Communities was touched upon:
“Another topic that we discussed was the development of Jewish life in Russia, in particular the work of the Federation of Jewish Communities. Now the eighth congress of the FEOR is taking place, and this organization was created 25 years ago. We just remembered that my first meeting with Vladimir Vladimirovich took place on the sidelines of the first FEOR congress, in 1999. He was then the head of government, he was very concerned about the problem of the mass exodus of Jews from Russia, but he said that he understood the reasons - there are almost no synagogues, there are practically no Jewish schools, and even the influence of anti-Semitic propaganda, then there were two terrorist attacks against synagogues, there were attacks on Jews right on the streets. And he added that he would do everything to make Jews in Russia feel safe. He promised and did, and continues to do, and the situation has changed radically: just the other day I gave an interview to Israeli radio and explained that there is zero tolerance with regard to anti-Semitism here in Russia, which is not at all like in the countries of the European Union. And in the same context, I told Vladimir Vladimirovich that Elena Trufanova, a former Hamas hostage who was released thanks to the actions of our president, came. She left just in 1999, and now she says that she has found a new country, that Jews here enjoy complete freedom, and the state treats them with all respect.”