The exiled chief rabbi of Moscow has again advised all Jews living in Russia to leave while they still can, before they can be made into scapegoats for the hardships created by the war in Ukraine.
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, in an interview with The Guardian, said: “We’re seeing rising antisemitism while Russia is going back to a new kind of Soviet Union, and step by step the iron curtain is coming down again. This is why I believe the best option for Russian Jews is to leave,
“When we look back over Russian history, whenever the political system was in danger you saw the government trying to redirect the anger and discontent of the masses towards the Jewish community.”
For most of the 20th century, the Russian Jewish population had been decreasing as they emigrated to America and Europe, and later to Israel.
In a 1926 census, the Jewish population living in the Soviet Union was estimated to be 2,672,000. Today, there are fewer than 200,000 Jews living in Russia, out of a total population of 143 million.
Mr Goldschmidt estimated that since the war began, 25-30 per cent of Russian Jews had either left or were planning to do so. The total number of Russians who have fled the country since the February invasion of Ukraine varies, but is thought to be around 200,000.
In July, the Russian government shut down the Russian branch of the Jewish agency, an organisation that promotes immigration to Israel. In September, President Vladimir Putin warned against Russian Jews from leaving the country, saying they had a duty to contribute to Russia.
Mr Goldschmidt noted that a sizeable portion of the Jewish community in Ukraine had also left since their country was invaded, which are now living as refugees in neighbouring countries as well as Israel. According to German officials, over 10,000 Jewish and non-Jewish Ukrainian refugees have fled to Germany.
Mr Goldschmidt, who left Russia for Hungary in March and resigned from his role as Moscow’s Chief Rabbi in July, also commented on rising antisemitism levels in the United States.
He said: “For many years, Jews in the US believed that it was an exception, that whatever happened in Europe and other countries could never happen there. But over the past three years there have been more attacks on Jews there than in Europe.
“What is changing is the political system is much more polarised but also the discourse has been upended by social media. The polarisation we’re seeing has made antisemitism much more acceptable.”
The Anti-Defamation League recorded a record 2,717 antisemitic incidents in the US last year.
