Jewish Russians taking a stand

The Russians risking all by speaking out

Natalya Sindeyeva at an event for Tango with Putin

Harassment of independent Jewish journalists in Russia has been par for the course, hears Adam Decker, as Russia introduces a 15-year jail sentence for the spreading of ‘fake news’

A couple of years ago, arriving back at her Moscow fl at after weeks away, serial protester and documentary fi lm-maker Vera Krichevskaya found that she couldn’t log on to her Wi-Fi. She couldn’t even fi nd it. Apartments are tightly packed in the city, so dozens of connections were available, but hers wasn’t there.

“I reset my router, but still couldn’t fi nd my network.” She called her broadband provider. “No, it’s there,” she was told. “You renamed it last week. It’s the one called HeilHitler.” Someone had hacked into her home broadband to do so. “It was made specially for me, because I’m openly Jewish.”

Antisemitic harassment of independent Jewish journalists such as Krichevskaya, 47, has been par for the course in Russia over recent years, and she is one of dozens of Russian Jews associated with criticism of Vladimir Putin.

None have been more iconic than opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated in 2015. Jewish Russian fi lm-maker Zosya Rodkevich su ered antisemitic death threats just for fi lming Nemtsov.

Mikhail Fishman, former Moscow Times editor and another leading Jewish Russian journalist, has also been critical of the Kremlin. This weekend, he tried to leave Russia for Georgia with his family. Entry was denied with no explanation given.

Another Jewish Russian journalist, Anna Mongayt, described as “a star” by Krichevskaya, grew up in the Ukrainian city of Odessa. She received death threats in 2019 from a far-right group after she interviewed a lesbian couple. Like Krichevskaya and Fishman, she worked at Dozhd TV (TV Rain), until it was fi nally forced o ine last week.

In recent days, just as Ukrainian refugees have fl ed Russian bombs, 150 independent journalists have fl ed Russia itself. Krichevskaya got one of the last planes out.

The exodus follows “the death of independent journalism in Russia” after the Russian parliament – often likened to a nodding dog – unanimously approved a law meting out 15-year jail sentences to those disseminating news about Russia’s armed forces that di ers even slightly from the o cial Kremlin line.

It kills what little non-state news there was left and has led to the closure not just of Dozhd but of news website Znak and Ekho Moskvy (Echo of Moscow) radio station. Two others have said they will no longer cover Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to protect their journalists from criminal prosecution.

The latest law is the co n’s fi nal nail. Last year, many independent Russian media outlets were overnight and without warning branded “foreign agents”. The list of those targeted is long: Meduza, PASMI, VTimes, The Insider, RFE/RL’s Russian Service, Open Media, MBK Media, even the BBC, to name but a few. Advertisers withdrew, landlords served eviction notices, and many were forced to close.

Krichevskaya describes state media journalists as “slaves and soldiers” who follow Putin around in a Kremlin plane, covering his foreign visits. Some, she even calls “TV killers, who provoked this war by brainwashing”. Among them is a Jewish pro-Kremlin, anti-Ukraine propagandist now on the EU’s sanctions list, whose Italian villa has just been seized and his YouTube channel shut down. “He spreads hatred,” says Krichevskaya. When sanctioned, he likened the EU’s behaviour to that of the Nazis.

I ask about her relationship with state journalists in Russia. “Today, I feel a concrete wall between us,” she says, although she has known many of them for years. “Before, they would do me favours, like provide me with archive footage. Now, I don’t think they would even talk to me in the street.”

Krichevskaya saw trouble brewing years ago and moved to London in 2014, just after Russia annexed Crimea. “It was clear then that it wouldn’t be a normal life, especially for my sons. There was already brainwashing in schools. I hated it.” When she left Russia again last week, it may have been for the last time.

“The skies were closed already. There were only a few ways out. I fl ew to Istanbul, then to Tel Aviv. I have family here and know the country well. So many are arriving here from Russia – I want to meet them, talk to them, support them.”

She describes herself as “proactively Jewish” and a “pessimist”, yet she has just directed Tango with Putin, a 90-minute documentary on Natalya Sindeyeva, the “insanely optimistic” founder of Dozhd, which aired on the BBC last week (its release had been planned for months).

“Jews don’t have optimism at all,” says Krichevskaya, laughing. “It’s not in our DNA!” She’s joking, yet it is a Jewish trait to question, I suggest. “Of course! We’re the ones to get answers – what’s happening, why is it happening, what will happen next? That is in our DNA, because we survived so many tragedies.”

What are Russians being told about Ukraine? “I talked to my mother’s Jewish friend last night. He’s 80. He told me Ukrainian fascists are bombing [the Ukrainian city of] Mariupol. ‘That’s why we [Russians] have to eliminate Ukrainian Nazis.’ That’s what Russian people know from state TV.”

How does she see the war in Ukraine ending? “I’ve lived in Ukraine. I know Ukrainians. It’s an historical mistake to start this war; it’s impossible to win. It’s a 40 million population, all united against this aggression, around the fi ght.

“We were all Soviet, all raised on Second World War mythology – books, fi lms, lessons in school. We learned about resistance. Ukrainians identify as heroes who sacrifi ced their lives against the Nazis. This mythology drives them enormously. It’s going to be the same now. I don’t think this war can end. It’s a catastrophe.”

Her concerns are many, not least to support the dozens of good Jewish Russian journalists now facing a year’s wait to gain Israeli citizenship, something she thinks the authorities could expedite. As for herself? “I’m so busy, I have no time to process anything. I need two weeks of silence.”

Before that, what does she say to our Jewish readers, many of whom have connections with Israel? She pauses, then says: “We see how easily and how fast it might happen again – with us. You understand what I mean?” I nod. Every Jew understands what she means. “Politicians don’t learn lessons at all.” She bites her lip. I thank her for her bravery and professionalism. Where she goes from here, neither of us knows.

CST raises £3.9m in weekend drive

The Community Security Trust smashed its pre-campaign fundraising target last weekend, raising £3.9 million to fund services used to protect British Jews against antisemitism, writes Jeremy Last.

The We Protect Community Fundraising Campaign, held between 5-7 March, saw more than 4,600 people donate to the CST, which depends on charitable donations.

Dave Rich, CST’s head of policy, said: “We are extremely grateful to the thousands of people across the Jewish community who supported CST’s fundraiser this weekend. Last year was the worst on record for antisemitism and since then we have seen a British jihadi take Jews hostage in a synagogue in Texas.

“We now face the prospect of further global instability this year and it is vital that CST is able to continue to do our work protecting our community.”

Regarding the timing of the event, the CST published a statement recognising the terrible situation in Ukraine and saying that in the end it had decided to go ahead with the campaign because its services are essential for the community.

“CST is appalled by the dreadful human cost of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and we wish every success to those charities working in the region,” the statement read.

“Nobody knows what is yet to happen, either within Ukraine or beyond its borders. After serious consideration, CST is proceeding with our Together We Protect campaign.

“This is because our own work is still very much needed. We have to deter our enemies and protect our community, at all times.” Roblox, a collaborative computer gaming platform for children as young as seven, has faced criticism over the years for failing properly to moderate its content – with antisemitism and racism rife.

Now the platform says it has removed a virtual Nazi concentration camp featuring gas chambers that users could operate.

The Daily Mail revealed the existence of the concentration camp game, which included watchtowers, gas chambers and train tracks apparently representing the cattle cars that brought Jews to Nazi death camps to be murdered.

The game had gas chambers that users could operate by pressing a button labelled “execute” or enter so their avatar was killed by gassing.

Roblox released a statement saying it had removed the concentration camp game and condemned extremism and antisemitism.

“We have zero tolerance for content or behaviours that promote or glorify extremism, including antisemitism,” the company said.

“We have removed the experiences... and banned the individuals who created them.”

ONLINE DEATH CAMP GAME WITH GAS CHAMBERS IS REMOVED

The Community Security Trust’s campaign over the weekend raised more than expected

HERZOG IN TURKEY

Isaac Herzog became the first Israeli president to visit Turkey in 14 years when he met Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Tuesday. The two leaders say they want to reset a relationship that has been rocked in the past decade by tensions over Hamas and Palestine.

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Neo-Nazi gets extended jail time

A “dangerous loner” neoNazi coronavirus conspiracist who spread antisemitic hoax theories has been given an extended jail sentence of more than 12 years.

Matthew Henegan stirred up racial hatred on the internet and in leafl ets posted to residents of St Neots, Cambridgeshire, where he was living at the start of the Covid-19 crisis in March 2020.

Residents reported these “o ensive and antisemitic” leafl ets to the police.

Sentencing the 37-yearold, who refused to attend the hearing at Winchester Crown Court, Judge Nigel Lickley QC said: “You created racist material designed to be infl ammatory, to cause upset and incite racial hatred of the Jewish faith.” He added: “In the context of the pandemic enveloping the world, you distributed material designed to incite hatred.”

Lickley said Henegan had undergone a mental health assessment after he shot himself with a gun, and was found to be “dangerous, cunning,

Jailed: Matthew Henegan

manipulative and devious”.

A pre-sentence report also found that he was a “loner, [a] potential threat to society and potentially a very dangerous man”. Henegen was sentenced to eight years and one month in prison, with an extended licence period of four years, and made subject to a counterterrorism notifi cation order for 30 years.

Julia Faure Walker, prosecuting, said Henegan had “terrorist motivations” and added: “On his own admission, he was doing this with a view to stir up extreme emotion in people.”

At his Old Bailey trial, the court heard how he repeatedly used a “grossly o ensive” term for Jewish people and falsely claimed they controlled the news about coronavirus.

MPs urged over Uyghur support

The Stop Uyghur Genocide group is asking people to lobby their MPs to support an amendment to the Health and Care Act that was passed last week in the House of Lords.

What is known as the Genocide Amendment was successfully tabled by Lord Alton and Baroness Kennedy, with the intention of preventing the NHS from buying equipment from states where there is believed to be a credible risk of genocide.

The target of the amendment was China, which has provided most of the personal protective equipment (PPE) used in hospitals, clinics and care homes during the Covid-19 pandemic. The PPE procured is primarily made by the Uyghur slave labour.

When the Health and Care Bill comes to the Commons, the Stop Uyghur Genocide group hopes people will ask their MPs – particularly those who hold ministerial o ce in the government – to support the Genocide Amendment.

The campaign has already received backing from the British Medical Association.

GOVE: BDS MUST BE STOPPED

Communities secretary Michael Gove has told MPs that one way of “tackling the evil of antisemitism” is to “stand against the boycott, divestment and sanctions [BDS] campaign”.

Speaking in the House of Commons this week, Gove had responded to a question from Labour MP Christian Wakeford, who asked him to commit to the continuation of funding for the Community Security Trust (CST) next year to protect Jewish schools and synagogues.

The cabinet minister responded, saying: “As the minister who, as secretary of state for education, initiated that scheme, I will do everything I can to make sure it continues.” He added: “One of the things we can all do in this House in order to tackle the evil of antisemitism is to stand against the [BDS] campaign. And that is why we are bringing forward legislation in order to outlaw BDS at a local government level.”

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S&P shares future vision with members

A detailed explanation of the latest plans for the S&P community was distributed to members this week after its Parnas Presidente (president), Professor Stuart Morganstein, admitted “people were disappointed” by a recent town hall meeting, writes Jenni Frazer.

Morganstein wrote: “As a Board, we should have been better prepared.” This was dismissed by former chair of Lauderdale Road Synagogue, Gerry Temple, as “an admission of failure”.

In a 2,000 word document sent to members of the community this week, the Board identifi es for the fi rst time the donor, Jonathan Kandel, who, with his wife, Miri Freud-Kandel, a lecturer in modern Judaism, has agreed to fund the O ce of the Senior Rabbi, to the tune of half a million pounds over fi ve years. Kandel is a tax lawyer who is not thought to be a member of the S&P community, but Jewish News has been told that he has a long-standing family association with it. Jewish News understands that Kandel’s father, Robert, intends to run for a place on the Board of Elders of the community.

Writing to the community, the Board says that the O ce of the Senior Rabbi is a role which dates back to 1664 and is the oldest rabbinic position in the UK. “The Board and Rabbi [Joseph] Dweck have a strong vision for the Senior Rabbi’s O ce, and we are excited to formally launch the o ce in the coming weeks.” It adds that “the enhancement of the Senior Rabbi’s O ce (SRO) will be of great benefi t to the Kahal for educational, ambassadorial, and fi nancial reasons”. But it does not make clear whether the initiative is dependent on Rabbi Dweck only, and what happens if he should decide to take up a rabbinical post elsewhere.

Rachel Fink, former head teacher of JFS, is conducting a strategic review into the workings of the S&P. So far she has interviewed around 25 members of the Kahal, including all Elders, chairs of synagogue and other key committees, the rabbis, and members of the professional team”. In response to rumours that Fink is to become the next chief executive of the S&P, the Board says it is “in the fi nal stages of the recruitment process and we expect to be able to make an appointment shortly”.

S&P Senior Rabbi Joseph Dweck

The panel upheld 21 out of 35 complaints against former Speaker John Bercow

Bercow found to be a ‘serial bully’

Former House of Commons Speaker John Bercow is a “serial bully” whose behaviour “fell very far below that which the public has a right to expect from any member of parliament”, an independent inquiry has found, writes Lee Harpin.

In a verdict announced on Tuesday into the conduct of Bercow, the fi rst Jewish Speaker, a panel upheld 21 out of 35 complaints made against him by former sta . By denying him future access to a Westminster pass, the panel e ectively banned him from parliament.

The report – published after Bercow appealed against the initial report made on him by Kathryn Stone, the Standards Commissioner – said: “The respondent’s conduct was so serious that, had he still been a member of parliament, we would have determined that he should be expelled by resolution of the house. As it is, we recommend that he should never be permitted a pass to the parliamentary estate.”

During his decade in the role, Bercow was at the centre of allegations around bullying – with claims he had sworn at o cials and had thrown his mobile phone. Allegations were levelled against him by Lord Lisvane, the former clerk of the Commons, and private secretaries Kate Emms and Angus Sinclair.

The sub-panel of the independent experts chaired by Sir Stephen Irwin found parliament’s bullying and harassment policy was “breached repeatedly and extensively by the most senior member of the House of Commons”. “In all, 21 separate allegations were proved and have been upheld. The house may feel that his conduct brought the high o ce of Speaker into disrepute,” it said. “This was behaviour which had no place in any workplace. Members of sta in the house should not be expected to have to tolerate it as part of everyday life.”

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US TRUSTEE IS APPOINTED HEAD OF DOCTORS’ BOARD

United Synagogue trustee Professor Andrew Eder has been appointed chair of trustees of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges

The consultant in restorative dentistry at UCL Eastman Dental Institute and former pro-vice-provost at University College London described the appointment as “a real privilege”.

Eder added: “With the shifting political landscape there will undoubtedly be challenges ahead, but I am confi dent the Academy and its members are well-placed to continue to be the voice of doctors on all professional matters.” He will take up his post on 1 April.

The role of trustees was to ensure that the Academy “continues to be well run”, he said. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges is the coordinating body for the UK and Ireland’s 24 medical royal colleges and faculties. It ensures patients are safely and properly cared for by setting standards for the way doctors are trained and monitored throughout their careers.

The Board of Trustees comprises eight members drawn from medical and nonmedical fi elds.

Actor joins ‘Jewface’ debate

Sir Ian McKellen has o ered his thoughts on the debate about whether Jewish characters are best played by Jewish performers by asking: “Does that mean I can’t play straight parts?”

The Lords of the Rings star, who is gay and not Jewish, was asked by BBC presenter Amol Rajan for his thoughts on the ‘Jewface’ debate that spiralled as a result of the decision to cast Dame Helen Mirren as Israeli leader Golda Meir.

In the revealing BBC2 interview with the 82-year-old Shakespearean actor, Rajan asked whether the debate

Sir Ian McKellen: Opinion

meant that gay people should play gay characters.

McKellen – who played Jewish comic book character Magneto in the X-Men fi lms – responded: “Well, there’s two things… Is the argument that a gentile cannot play a Jew? And is the argument therefore that a Jew cannot play a gentile?

“And is the argument that a straight man cannot play a gay part? And if so, does that mean I can’t play straight parts and I’m not allowed to explore the fascinating subject of heterosexuality in Macbeth? Surely not. We’re acting. We’re pretending.

“Are we capable of understanding what it is to be Jewish? Are we going to convince a Jewish audience that we are Jewish? Perhaps we don’t need to, because we are just acting.”

Man accused of violent attack ‘very unwell’

by Jenni Frazer @JenniFrazer

A man accused of a vicious attack on two Jewish shop owners in Stamford Hill on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day has been sent to the psychiatric ward of a hospital instead of appearing at Wood Green Crown Court.

Malachi Thorpe, 18, allegedly assaulted Israel Grossman and Erwin Ginsberg as they closed their shop in Cadoxton Avenue, Stamford Hill, on 27 January.

Allegedly armed with a bottle, Thorpe was facing two charges of racially or religiously aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily

Shomrim’s video footage shows a man punching the two men, knocking one to the ground

harm and one of possessing an o ensive weapon, after the two men, described in court as “visibly Orthodox Jewish”, ended up in hospital being treated for a variety of injuries. Shomrim had released video footage of the incident ,which went viral, and was condemned by both Boris Johnson and Priti Patel.

Last Thursday, Thorpe was due to enter pleas at Wood Green Crown Court, but his defence lawyer, David Lyons, told the court that once he was in custody, his behaviour had spurred the prison authorities to transfer him to a hospital’s wing for psychiatric assessment.

Lyons said: “It appears that the defendant is a very unwell man at the moment.”

Cathryn Evans, prosecuting, described the alleged attack as “unprovoked”.

‘SWASTIKA THREAT’ BY FORMER EMPLOYEE

Police are due to speak to a man who was allegedly threatened by a former employee that he would “carve a swastika on your forehead with a knife”.

The alleged victim, understood to be in his 30s and a resident of Stamford Hill, told Shomrim, the neighbourhood watch security organisation, about repeated harassment from his former employee, who was let go at the beginning of January.

According to a spokesman for Shomrim, the man was “too frightened” to go to police. Instead Shomrim registered a “third party hate crime” complaint with the police, alleging “malicious communications” against the victim.

A police spokesman told Jewish News that since the complaint was lodged, enquiries were continuing and an appointment had been made to speak to the alleged victim to secure more details. She said that when Grossman and Ginsberg had seen Thorpe staring at them as they closed the shutters on their shop, they had asked if he was looking for someone.He told them: “Yes, I am.”

Thorpe, of Tottenham, was remanded in custody ahead of a hearing at Wood Green Crown Court on 21 April.

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New vision of hell: Warsaw Ghetto in colour

A London artist colourised and restored pictures of people in the ghetto while he was researching his family,

A Wembley artist has had an unexpected “massive feedback” when he colourised and restored pictures of people in the wartime Warsaw Ghetto, and posted them on a Jewish genealogy website.

Richard Szerman was involved in researching his own family background when he began “repairing” grainy pictures from the Holocaust era. He was particularly interested in the story of his great-aunt, Bronislawa Emilia Szerman, who survived the war in Poland and died in 1968.

He came across the story of his “heroic” Catholic cousin, Jerzy Wojciech Gebski, who “smuggled guns into the ghetto and posed as a rubbish collector to take the rubbish out of the Warsaw ghetto. Under the rubbish he smuggled children”.

Szerman said that Jerzy was a chemist, who “put his life and the rest of the family at risk trying to save the Jews and fi ght the Nazis”. He and his brother, Witold Gebski, fought side by side in the Ruczaj battalion in Poland.

While doing his research, Szerman came across a YouTube fi lm of people in the Warsaw Ghetto. “Each person was shown only for a second or so, but I started to freeze-frame the images and, gradually, I brought 20 people to life,” he explained. “They are not perfect but almost certainly these people did not survive and do not have graves. We have to preserve what is left.”

He posted the images on Facebook’s Jewish Genealogy Portal and was overwhelmed by the fact he received 2,000 replies.

Now, Szerman, who is raising money for Cancer UK with his project, hopes that perhaps someone will recognise a family member among his restored colourised images.  To donate visit: www.gofundme. com/f/U2CANSTOPCANCER