The Heretics' Hour: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

I especially like this one:  http://www.timesofisrael.com/back-in-the-ussr/

I was thinking of making a post about it, but I'll just quote some of it here.

And where does Putin fit in to all this? “I believe he brought a lot of change [for the Jewish community and its well-being].  Gorbachev and [first Russian Federation president Boris] Yeltsin changed a lot, but Putin really came out and tackled anti-Semitism. Under Yeltsin [1991-99], if there were anti-Semitic incidents, he said, Ignore it, it will go away. Putin confronted it, head-on. His message is, Don’t harm the Jews. You’ll be arrested and punished. A young boy came into the shul with a knife. He was 17-18. He was jailed for sixteen years.

“A non-Jewish lady saw a sign by the side of the road that said ‘Death to the Jews.’ She went to take it down and it exploded in her face. There were nails in it. We flew her to Israel because the doctors here said they couldn’t save her eyesight. In Israel, the doctors made miracles and she came back with her eyesight restored. Putin called her in and thanked her for her heroism.”

“He sends a message of not tolerating anti-Semitism. That he meets with us sends a strong message to the people. For the Jews in Russia, things have changed drastically. It’s nothing short of a miracle. And that’s why Jews have come out [to acknowledge their faith]. Every day, hundreds come.”

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Before he came around, Russia was battered. Russian Jews were ashamed to say they were Russian. Today there’s a new pride. I’m not saying it’s all good. He’s very popular. He broadcasts this message: Don’t tangle with Russia. What we in the Jewish community care for is that it not turn into a nationalistic feeling. Today we’re comfortable. But we’re watching. We watch out for [anti-Semitic] rhetoric. People sometimes say things on TV and we sometimes go out strongly against it.”

Hasn’t Putin ignited nationalistic feelings? “I think he’s a Russian patriot. There’s a small divide between patriotism and nationalistic sentiment. You have to be very careful everywhere, especially in Russia. When you see it expressed ‘just’ against foreigners, against Asians, there are those who say, ‘Look they’re busy with them. You’re safe.’ No, any nationalistic sentiment is not good.”

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Is he moving Russia toward democracy or away? [Chlenov of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress says]:  “Certainly away. He wants to create a combination of the ideology of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Russia, and of the Soviet Union — the Soviet Union as he thinks it should have existed — without anti-Semitism.” (Putin said in a 2005 German TV interview, “Anyone who doesn’t regret the passing of the Soviet Union has no heart. Anyone who wants it restored has no brains.”)

Putin wants Russia as a rival superpower on the world stage? “He wants that Russia should get off its knees, that Russia should regain her glory in a multipolar world.”

Invoking a historical perspective, Chlenov notes that anti-Semitism was “sponsored by the mighty here from the 16th century until the end of the Soviet Union. That stopped at the end of the 1990s. To date, none of the governments of the FSU countries is sponsoring anti-Semitism; quite the reverse. With Putin, it’s curious. He’s trying to create a certain Russian empire, but he’s not an anti-Semite. Everyone knows he has friends in Israel and visits Israel.”