Rumors that Putin's successor is Jewish has community worried

MOSCOW - The Jewish community of Russia is worried over a rumor campaign by nationalist parties claiming that Dmitri Medvedev, President Vladimir Putin's handpicked successor, is Jewish.

Russian Jewish leaders declined to comment on the rumors officially, fearing to lend them credibility. Off the record, however, one said: "I pray it isn't true, because it would only make trouble, for him and for us."

Medvedev, who recently told a Russian weekly that he was baptized into the Russian Orthodox Church at age 23, has not commented on these rumors. But Russian Internet sites are full of reports about his alleged Jewish roots.
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The rumors are based in part on the fact that his maternal grandfather's first name was Veniamin - similar to the Hebrew Binyamin (Benjamin) - while his family name, Shaposhnikov, is sometimes a Jewish name. But beyond that, accusing an electoral rival of being Jewish is a tactic that nationalist parties have employed in the past, both in Russia and in other former communist countries.

Nikolai Bondarik, who heads the St. Petersburg branch of the nationalist Russian Party, told the Moscow Times on Wednesday "we are categorically against him because he is an ethnic Jew and does not conceal his sympathies toward Judaism." He also charged that with Medvedev in power, foreigners and Jews would plunder Russia's natural resources; "tens of thousands" of Israelis would be given key positions in bodies such as "the police, army, and secret services"; and Russia's relations with the Arab world would be destroyed.

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My grandmother, who immigrated here from Russian-occupied Poland, would say that "when times got tough, you attack the Jews". In the 70's, my parents got involved with helping Russian Jews get into the U.S. and we heard some chilling stories of how they had to hide the fact they were Jewish or lose whatever job they had. Things got worse in under Brezhnev as Jews were scapegoats for both the dissident movement and as "Israeli spies".

It's no surprise that with the rise of Russian nationalism comes anti-semitism. It's been a rallying factor of the Russian pysche...used for political purposes when times get tough. While we're not seeing Cossacks riding through shtetls, when things get tough in Russia, anti-semetism isn't far from the surface.

Cheers...

Just saying ....

Of course, the only black Russian is served chilled.

Also...remember, this is the land of Catherine the Great. Anti-semetism trumps sexism...but not by much.