Russian
Jewry
Taken
from:
Academic Response To Antisemitism & Racism in Europe
(Arare)
Chairman: Professor Eric Moonman
INTERFAITH
CONFERENCE HELD IN MOSCOW
An
interfaith conference was held in Moscow last October and
was attended by representatives of the Russian Orthodox
Church, the Congress of Jewish Religious Communities of
Russia and the Council of Muftis of Russia, as well as from
other religious communities functioning in Russia. Scholars
from the United States and Europe also participated. Organised
by a Russian group which promotes inter-religious dialogue
and supported by the government and by the Federation of
Jewish Organisations, the Conference was entitled "Search
for Paths of Peace and Harmony: Common Responsibility of
Christians, Moslems and Jews" and was held in the official
residence of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. The
conference represents the first time that Jewish-Islamic
and Jewish-Russian Orthodox dialogue was conducted within
Russia on such a high level.
UNPRECEDENTED
PUTIN GESTURE
In
an unprecedented gesture to Russian Jewry, President Putin
spent 90 minutes at the dedication of a Lubavitch synagogue
which had been repeatedly bombed by neo-Nazis. The former
KGB officer used the occasion to decry anti-semitism and
to laud the revival of Judaism in Russia.
The
hate crimes in Russia extend beyond the Jews. African diplomats
in Moscow reportedly fear for their safety after being targeted
by neo-Nazi skinheads believed to be working in co-operation
with the KKK (Klu Klux Klan) and German extremists.
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