Former Activists for Soviet Jewry Protest Anti-Jewish Attacks

The activists gathered Sunday morning outside the Russian Diplomatic Residence in Riverdale, New York, in order to condemn last week’s anti-Jewish attack in a Moscow synagogue in which a neo-Nazi skinhead stabbed eight congregants.



Rabbi Avi Weiss, who for year led protests at the Residence, coordinated by the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, led this protest.



Rabbi Eitan Mintz, vice-president of Weiss's Amcha-Coalition for Jewish Concern, read a list of eight attacks on Moscow’s five synagogues in recent years and led the demonstrators in the recitation of Psalms.



Protesters chanted slogans such as, “Stop Russian anti-Semitism now!” and “Stop attacks on Moscow synagogues now!”



“The first question a human asks in the Bible is Cain’s, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’" Rabbi Weiss declared. "The answer to that is the entire Bible, and the answer depends on us. The Jews in the synagogue that was attacked feel so vulnerable, and are asking, ‘Does anyone care enough to respond?’"



Weiss claims that, similar to the state-sponsored anti-Semitism of yesteryear, anti-Jewish attacks in Russia today are sanctioned by the state due to lack of action taken against their perpetrators. “In the Torah portion read this week, the oppressor Pharoah states, ‘let us deal wisely’ with the Jews," Weiss said. "Anti-Semitism in Russia is both subtle and overt, not sponsored but condoned…We turn to Russian officials and say: Unless you prosecute and severely punish the perpetrator of the synagogue attack, you’re sending a message that this behavior is condoned. We’re watching. Will this be a revolving door where he’ll soon be released?"



That Sunday’s action came a day before the commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day was not lost on the demonstrators. Glenn Richter, the former national coordinator of the Students Struggle for Soviet Jewry, told the protestors that Rev. King had “felt a deep connection to the Biblical Jews oppressed by Pharaoh and had spoken out publicly and strongly on behalf of Russian Jews before the issue became popular in the American Jewish community”.



Singing “Am Yisrael Chai” (“The Jewish People Live”), the anthem of the Soviet Jewry movement, the group then placed their signs and placards on and through the tall fence surrounding the Residence.