Question of the day: does anti-Semitism exist in modern Russia?

A very interesting, topical question was raised by journalist Anna Narinskaya, one of the curators of the exhibition "Find a Jew", which takes place in the Moscow gallery GRAUND Solyanka:

“Perhaps the most frequent question that I am asked in connection with the exhibition“ Find a Jew ”is whether there is anti-Semitism in Russia now?

I am, of course, not a sociologist, to answer in texture, and my exhibition is not about anti-Semitism as such, but rather about how it was possible to live "by" it in spite of everything. But, probably, to say that I think it is necessary, since everyone is interested.

Now in Russia there is no state anti-Semitism, and it incredibly fueled various forms of everyday anti-Semitism. There is, of course, everyday anti-Semitism now, but not all of its manifestations are recognized as such. I have already told you about a girl who was promoted (!) At work "because your nation can handle money". Not everyone recognizes this as anti-Semitism, and as I was told even by my young and radical friends in many other things, concerning insult to feelings: “not all national stereotypes are racist”. (I think that everything, try "you are a Chechen and therefore you know how to handle weapons well", and I will personally say to myself - I suffer a lot from such stereotypes, so an elephant stepped on my ear and I just can't handle money)... But there is nothing to argue - everyday, and even theoretical (about the Zionist conspiracy, that's all) we have anti-Semitism, but what's interesting is that I think we have less of it than in many European countries today.

The reason is simple - for many reasons (not always excellent), we do not have the total anti-Israel sentiments characteristic of Western intellectuals and more or less left (that is, the main quality) media. And it is these sentiments and it is this rhetoric that camouflages and fuels anti-Semitism in the world. A decent person in the West cannot say "Jews are inherently bad people," but he can easily say "Israel is the creator of a new Holocaust, and Jews all over the world are loyal to it, so I don't like them." The Austrian story of a woman with a Magindovid on her neck who was refused admission by a doctor “until you equip hospitals in Gaza” (she was not an Israeli) is impossible in Russia.

I myself do not at all support many actions of Israel in relation to the "territories", but Israel is certainly not the only and certainly not the main aggressor in the world, and statements like "they are organizing the Holocaust against the Palestinians" are manipulative and deceitful (which does not mean , again, I believe that at this point all the rules). And they very often cover up their dislike for the Jews as a nation.

I think there is more anti-Semitism in present-day France and even in England than in today's Russia. It's very strange for me to write this. But here..."

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This question could not fail to cause a variety of comments from readers living in different countries. They heatedly discussed the situation of the Jews both in Russia and in Europe. Here are just a few of them.

- You Jews are good at this and that ... In general, this is anti-Semitism, tk. feeds an inferiority complex: “you, Jews, are better than us, therefore we feel hurt (even if the speaker does not always realize it himself), therefore you are different (strangers).

- In Russia there is little ground for anti-Semitism, because there are very few Jews outside Moscow-Petersburg. A very narrow layer in the largest cultural and financial centers such as Novosibirsk or Yekaterinburg, that's all. In Soviet times, in any regional center, any yard was filled with Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. He himself grew up in such a yard. And what is the point of thinking about someone nasty, if there is no one to tell them? Perhaps in Europe they are more inclined to abstract thinking...

- I was on a tour of Moscow (Jewish) with an Israeli guide, a repatriate from Russia. And the guide repeated the phrase twice, the meaning of which is that never before have Jews lived so well in Russia as they did under Putin. This is probably true. Only the question arose - was it Putin's merit or was it just time itself that worked? Somehow I am inclined to believe that this is simply the evolution of human consciousness, the growth of tolerant sentiments and even the awareness of the tragedy of the people due to the availability of information from open sources. In any case - the topic is interesting, the topic has not been disclosed!