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Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism Thrive in Russia; Is Putin on a Collision Course with Israel?
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un during a meeting at the Vostochny Сosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, September 13, 2023. Sputnik/Vladimir Smirnov/Pool via REUTERS
During a speech in 2022 celebrating the annexation of four new Ukrainian territories (in addition to Crimea, which was annexed in 2014), Russian President Putin unexpectedly articulated a new ideology of Russian anti-colonialism, surprising many Western observers.
Putin synthesized a new “conservative” Kremlin ideology with a formally “leftist” Soviet ideology. What could this ideology practically mean for Israel?
Putin stated: “The West is willing to do anything to preserve the neocolonial system that allows it to parasitize, to actually plunder the world through the power of the dollar and technological diktat, to collect real tribute from humanity, to extract the main source of unearned prosperity, the hegemon’s rent.” Putin accused the West of preparing aggression against Russia through Ukraine, in order to maintain its global domination and colonial enslavement. Interestingly, Putin presented his own aggression and annexation of foreign territories as self-defense, ostensibly aimed at dismantling Western imperialism and liberating the Global South.
Naturally, for any unbiased observer, such a peculiar ideology of “anti-colonialism” contains an obvious contradiction: the liberation of nations from imperialism is clearly impossible through attempts to build an empire. However, the experts who underestimated the potential impact of Putin’s new ideology of “anti-colonialism” because of its inherent contradictions were mistaken.
Putin is trying to capitalize on the fact that the war in Ukraine has not been condemned in many non-Western countries. As Peter Rutland wrote: “The war unified the West — but has divided the West from the rest of the world. The majority of the countries in the Global South see the Ukraine war as a problem in that it has caused energy and food prices to rise, but they are not blaming Russia for starting the war, and have declined to join the Western sanctions. This recalls the Cold War — during which most of the developing world adopted a non-aligned stance, preferring to stay out of the contest between the superpowers.” The unexpected appeal of the Russian position for a number of Third World countries is also noted in a report by the Swedish Defence Research Agency.
To support this new doctrine, a powerful media network (including the popular RT TV channel and Sputnik system in many parts of the world, as well as a network of social media accounts) was deployed. In shaping this new doctrine, Russia managed to partially (although not without internal contradictions) overcome its dependence on the conservative and even explicitly racist discourse of Putin’s propaganda, which is widespread in Russia itself.
Putin’s “anti-colonialism” ideology continues to evolve. It looks more like a state-sponsored process than a full-fledged Soviet-type ideology (e.g., as it appeared under Mikhail Suslov, who oversaw Soviet ideology from Stalin to the end of the Brezhnev era). Based on pragmatic considerations, the Russian elite has decided to emphasize the image of Russia as a global “leader of oppressed countries,” just as the USSR did.
According to a leak, the new propaganda aimts to focus on some of the less wealthy European countries (including Southern Europe, parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe), post-Soviet countries, South America, and Asia. However, this propaganda is not limited to these parts of the world.
For Israel, the political implications of promoting such an ideology are quite clear.
The Russian leadership appeals to Soviet anti-Zionist (and implicitly antisemitic) ideology, which in itself would have negative consequences for relations with Israel, even if this process remained purely ideological and did not manifest itself in practical life.
In practice, however, Russia is trying to use the new anti-colonial and anti-Israel ideology to build relations with non-Western countries, countering Western attempts to create a global alliance against Russia’s actions in Ukraine
In this context, it is particularly dangerous for Israel that Russia actively employs anti-colonial (and anti-Zionist) ideology in its diplomatic engagement with Iran.
The surge of leftist anti-Israel sentiment in Western intellectual circles demonstrates that the Kremlin’s appeal to Soviet anti-colonial propaganda is helping to destabilize the modern West to some extent.
Anti-Zionist propaganda in Russia itself (and among far-right groups in the West) appeals to far-right groups whose significance to the Kremlin has increased due to ideological confrontation with the liberal world order.
Let’s examine the points highlighted above.
Appeal to Soviet Anti-Zionist Ideology in the Global South. Putin’s Russia seeks to capitalize on the ideological legacy of the Soviet Union in non-Western countries. The Soviet Union was renowned for its uncompromising anti-colonial struggle against Western colonial empires (although its own policies, for example, in Central Asia or the Caucasus, can be characterized as colonial, and such practices continue to this day).At least since the time of Khrushchev, if not the late Stalin, Soviet anti-colonial struggle has included significant elements of anti-Zionism and antisemitism. Soviet policy in the Arab Middle East during certain periods was largely confined to supporting Israel’s opponents, including the governments of Egypt under Gamal Nasser, Syria under Hafez al-Assad, and various Palestinian terrorist groups.The Soviet struggle against Israel and Zionism, however, was much broader. It included active anti-Zionist propaganda spread in Third World countries, drawing direct parallels between Zionism and imperialism (and even Nazism as the most extreme form of imperialism). The regions of most uncompromising Soviet anti-colonial struggle included the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and others. In virtually all of these regions, the Soviet Union actively used anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic propaganda.
Establishing Relations with Non-Western Countries through a New Anti-Colonial and Anti-Israeli Ideology. The Kremlin is using a new anti-colonial and anti-Israeli ideology to build relations with non-Western countries, countering Western attempts to create a global alliance against Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Currently, in the context of the war in Gaza, old leftist forces historically linked to the Soviet Union and actively opposing Israel’s policies have re-emerged in these regions.In Latin America, most of the countries most actively opposed to Israel (primarily Bolivia, but also Chile, Colombia, Honduras, and Belize) have leftist governments that to varying degrees associate themselves with Soviet anti-colonial ideology. However, it should be noted that other factors also influence foreign policy decisions. Some leftist governments in the region have been relatively cautious in their statements. Such additional factors include national interests, diplomatic traditions (e.g., Belize tends to take a position opposite to Guatemala, which has expressed pro-Israel sentiments), or the presence of large Arab diasporas (e.g., Chile, which has a half-million Arab minority).The African National Congress in South Africa, which has a strong anti-Israeli stance, has also historically been linked (through its militant left wing) to the USSR. The Syrian regime in the Middle East, which opposes Israel, is directly linked to Soviet times: the Assad dynasty had ties to the USSR. This list could go on for a long time.
Numerous statements by Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Maria Zakharova (spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) contain elements of anti-Israel discourse and antisemitic global conspiracy theory.
For instance, Putin repeatedly stated that Volodymyr Zelensky, who he said was “installed by Western curators,” was covering for “Ukrainian Nazis” with whom Russia is at war. Lavrov added to this by suggesting that “Hitler was allegedly of Jewish descent.” Zakharova published an article justifying a position that some experts (especially in Ukraine and Israel) consider to be a soft version of the Holocaust denial prevalent in the USSR.
In this regard, there is currently an active discussion (in Russia, Ukraine, and Israel) about whether a Soviet style policy of state antisemitism is being revived in Russia. At that time, propaganda equating Zionism with Western imperialism and even German Nazism was widespread]. This idea was utilized both domestically and in specific Soviet propaganda aimed at Arab countries in the Middle East.
Russia also actively supports anti-Israel forces in the Gaza war, including various Palestinian groups, Iran and Hezbollah.
New Anti-Colonial Ideology in Diplomatic Interactions with Iran. Russia is actively using its new anti-colonial ideology in diplomatic engagement with Iran. Iran’s “axis of resistance” ideology, although adapted to a Shiite framework, is very reminiscent of Soviet anti-imperialist and anti-Zionist propaganda and often incorporates elements of the Soviet system (e.g., Assad’s Syria). I analyzed publications on the website of the Russian embassy in Iran and the Iran-related section of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website. A significant part of the publications from 2022-2024 contains elements of anti-colonial rhetoric. This rhetoric has become a mandatory component of diplomatic documents signed in recent years by Russian and Iranian representatives.
Of course, it cannot be said that anti-colonial ideology and even anti-Israel stance were the main reasons for the rapprochement between Russia and Iran. It was more a coincidence of situational factors. From Moscow’s perspective, the key reason for rapprochement was that Iran, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and Russia’s international isolation, became an important source of technology (primarily in the production of drones), a political ally in the fight against the West, and an example of long-term economic survival under Western sanctions. Finally, the Iran-Israel conflict was very convenient for Russia to distract the US leadership from the Ukraine problem. Nevertheless, the new anti-colonial rhetoric ideologically reinforces the Russia-Iran rapprochement.
The Explosion of Leftist Anti-Israeli Sentiment in Western Intellectual Circles, Especially in Universities, in the US, and Moscow’s Influence. Putin’s Russia is largely not directly connected to the ultra-leftist circles in the US. Instead, Moscow interacts with right-wing circles in the US that support Trump. The ties of some left-wing parties, such as Germany’s Die Linke, to Russia are more characteristic of Europe.
Nonetheless, Russia has contributed to anti-imperialist and anti-Israeli propaganda in the .S. Notably, Moscow’s ideology is most actively promoted in English-speaking countries through the RT network. RT head Margarita Simonyan largely anticipated Putin’s turn to anti-colonial rhetoric and has sought to recruit journalists with leftist, anti-imperialist, and anti-colonial views in several countries, including the United States.
In addition, RT is connected to a large group of social media accounts actively spreading anti-Israeli propaganda in the context of the war in Gaza. Thus, the Kremlin is also contributing to the West’s division along this line.
Anti-Zionist propaganda in Russia itself, as well as among far-right groups in the West, appeals to ultra-right antisemitic groups. One of the paradoxes of the new doctrine is that it utilizes propaganda aimed at both far-right and far-left circles. The involvement of prominent right-wing ideologue Alexander Dugin in the formation of the new “anti-colonial” discourse indicates a certain continuity in shaping the right-wing propaganda (directed primarily at wealthy European countries and the US) with the new formally left-wing “anti-colonial” propaganda (directed mainly at the Global South).Dugin, in his various works (for example, on the well-known ideologue of the Third Reich, Carl Schmitt), has demonstrated how elements of Nazi ideology can be introduced into a formally leftist discourse (for example, referring to Carl Schmitt’s theory of the partisan, which in the perception of a number of Russian far-right circles acquires distinct imperial and even antisemitic connotations).
Among other far-right figures involved in the anti-colonial discourse, Konstantin Malofeev, a well-known oligarch, stands out. He played a significant role in the annexation of Crimea and in the outbreak of the war in Donbass, and was a source of funding for Igor Strelkov, the former “defense minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic.” Malofeev’s propagandist TV channel Tsargrad was initially modeled on American ultra-conservative propaganda. Now Malofeev finances the Tsargrad Institute, intellectually controlled by Dugin. Thus, there is an attempt to appropriate the anti-colonial discourse by Russian far-right circles. There is also a clear misuse of elements of anti-colonial discourse for Russian propaganda in developed Western countries, especially in Europe.
Dugin and Malofeev are known for their numerous antisemitic and anti-Israeli statements, which they now disguise as anti-colonial ideology. This approach is well-received by far-right antisemitic circles in Europe. Unlike the United States, Europe has very influential far-right groups with anti-Israeli and antisemitic positions. Russia’s traditional ties with some far-right parties in Europe fit well with this abusive strand of anti-colonial discourse, transforming it from left-wing to right-wing. Despite the internal contradictions in Dugin’s theses related to right-wing misuse of left-wing theories, they are fully in line with the Kremlin’s propaganda directives in Europe, where the emphasis of “anti-colonialism” should be on supporting traditional, “normal” values.
In addition, “duginism” becomes a means of reinterpreting the anti-colonial foreign policy discourse for the needs of domestic propaganda in Russia. As part of the transition to the “anti-colonial” discourse, a total mobilization of intellectual forces is planned, which involves purging the country of liberals who have not yet left. This ideology also includes a significant share of anti-Semitism. The ideologues of this process also include Dugin and Malofeev, who have proclaimed ideas of “decolonization” of Russian science.
An analysis of the anti-Israeli elements in Putin’s new ideology of “anti-colonialism” shows that as this ideology takes hold, Russia may find itself in a situation of systematic ideologically motivated confrontation with Israel, similar to what took place during the Soviet era. This ideology is currently evolving under the influence of various situational factors related to an attempt to overcome the international isolation of Putin following the invasion of Ukraine. However, this does not mean that it will quickly disappear. After all, anti-Israeli ideology in the USSR also developed under the influence of various situational factors, but lasted for decades during the Cold War.
The author is an Affiliated Research Fellow at the PSCR Program, the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Bar-Ilan University, PhD (Israel). A version of this article was originally published by The BESA Center.
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Lebanon Claims It Is Replacing Hezbollah in the South
Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam speaks at the presidential palace on the day he meets with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, in Baabda, Lebanon, Jan. 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
JNS.org – Lebanon’s leadership declared in recent days that the Lebanese Army has begun replacing Hezbollah forces in the country’s southern region.
In an April 15 interview with The New Arab, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun announced that 2025 would be the year of the Lebanese state’s monopoly on arms.
Aoun pledged that only the state would have weapons, referring to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), and stressed this goal would be achieved through direct dialogue with Hezbollah, while explicitly ruling out steps that could ignite conflict with Hezbollah.
“I told the Americans that we want to remove Hezbollah’s weapons, but we will not ignite a civil war in Lebanon,” Aoun said, referencing a meeting with US Deputy Envoy Morgan Ortagus.
Aoun added that Hezbollah members could potentially integrate individually into the LAF but rejected replicating the Iraqi model where Shi’ite, Iranian-backed paramilitary groups formed independent units within the military. He asserted the LAF was conducting missions throughout the country “without any obstruction from Hezbollah.”
Hezbollah member Mahmoud Qamat, however, responded by stating, “No one in the world will succeed in laying a hand on this weapon,” according to Lebanese media.
Hezbollah Member of Parliament Ali Fayyad stated the group was open to internal dialogue but warned against pressure on the LAF to disarm Hezbollah.
Col. (res.) Dr. Hanan Shai, a research associate at the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy and a former investigator for the IDF’s commission on the 2006 Second Lebanon War, told JNS on Wednesday that statements by Lebanese officials and the activities of the Lebanese army are “unequivocally an achievement for Israel.”
But Shai warned that due “the weakness of the Lebanese army, the IDF cannot rely on it and must back it up with its own parallel defense—mainly through detailed intelligence monitoring and targeted thwarting of any violation not only in Southern Lebanon but also [deep] within it, including at sea and air ports.”
The fragility of the situation was highlighted when a LAF soldier was killed, and three others were wounded while attempting to neutralize suspected Hezbollah ordnance in the Tyre district of Southern Lebanon on April 14.
Hezbollah’s real intentions were also apparent when its supporters reportedly burned billboards celebrating Lebanon’s “new era.”
Most tellingly, the Israel Defense Forces is continuing to detect intelligence of illegal Hezbollah activity in Southern Lebanon, and acting on that intelligence. Overnight between April 15 and 16, the IDF conducted strikes against Hezbollah infrastructure in Southern Lebanon.
In one strike near Aitaroun in Southern Lebanon, an IDF aircraft killed Ali Najib Bazzi, identified by the IDF as a squad commander in Hezbollah’s Special Operations unit. Other recent IDF actions included strikes and artillery fire targeting a Hezbollah engineering vehicle near Ayta ash-Shab in Southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, reports emerged suggesting Hezbollah was actively adapting its methods for acquiring weapons. Reports indicated a shift towards sea-based smuggling routes utilizing Beirut Port.
The Saudi Al-Hadath news site reported on April 8 that Iran’s Quds Force created an arms smuggling sea route that bypasses Syria.
Amidst these reports, Aoun visited Beirut Port on April 11, calling for strict government cargo monitoring.
Karmon expresses skepticism
Senior research scholar Ely Karmon of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism at Reichman University in Herzliya stated, “There’s no doubt there’s a change in Lebanon, first of all on the political level— the fact that President Joseph Aoun was elected—supported by the West, the United States, Saudi Arabia.”
In addition, he said, “Hezbollah’s political weight in parliament and in Lebanon in general has dropped significantly after the blow they received from the IDF.”
On the other hand, Karmon expressed deep skepticism about Aoun’s stated path to disarming Hezbollah. Aoun’s statement that he “isn’t interested in coming to military confrontation with Hezbollah,” and that it needs to be a “slow process,” as well as his call for Hezbollah to enter Lebanese army units, should not be taken at face value, according to Karmon.
“I don’t really believe it. First of all, because traditionally, in the Lebanese Army, most of the soldiers were Shi’ites, for a simple demographic reason. And therefore, the integration of thousands of Hezbollah fighters or personnel into the army—certainly at this stage in my opinion—it’s a danger that they’ll take control of the army from within, after they’ve already for years cooperated with the army.”
He added, “We know, for example, that they received weapons from the Lebanese Army—tanks and APCs—when they operated in Syria in 2013, 2010, and they even presented them publicly in Qusayr [in Syria]. On the other hand, we also heard one article from a Hezbollah representative who’s on their political committee, stating, ‘Absolutely not, we will not give up the weapons!’ It is clear there’ll be opposition.”
Karmon said he was skeptical about Lebanese government claims about taking over around 95 out of some 250 Hezbollah positions in Southern Lebanon. Karmon assessed that Hezbollah and its Iranian sponsors would be cautious but that they would continue to try “as usual, to act and to bring in weapons, to prepare some infrastructure in case, for example, there is a crisis in the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue.”
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‘Tradition, Tradition!’
An image from “Family at the Seder,” from the 1935 Haggadah by artist Arthur Szyk (b. 1894, Lodz, Poland—d. 1951, New Canaan, CT). Photo: Courtesy of Irvin Ungar
JNS.org – How important is tradition in Judaism? Obviously, the answer is that it is very important. I mean, they even dedicated a major song by that title in “Fiddler on the Roof!”
How strong is the need for tradition in the spiritual consciousness of Jews today? Despite the effects of secularism, I’d venture to suggest that there is still a need inside us to feel connected to our roots, our heritage and our sense of belonging to the Jewish people. Perhaps more than any time of the year, Passover is the season when millions of Jews embrace their traditions with love, warmth and lots of nostalgia.
But for vast numbers of our people, tradition alone has not been enough. And that applies not only to the rebellious among us who may have cast aside their traditions with impunity, but also to many ordinary, thinking people who decided that to do something just because “that’s the way it has always been done” was simply not good enough.
So what if my grandfather did it? My grandfather rode around in a horse and buggy! Must I give up my car for a horse just because my Zaidy rode a horse? And if my Bubbie never got a university degree, why shouldn’t I? Just because my grandparents practiced certain Jewish traditions, why must I? Perhaps those traditions are as obsolete as the horse and buggy?
There are masses of Jews who think this way and who will not be convinced to behave Jewishly just because their grandparents did.
We need to tell them why their grandparents did it. They need to understand that their grandparents’ traditions were not done just for tradition’s sake, but there was a very good reason why their forbears practiced those traditions. And those very same reasons and rationales still hold good today. There is, in fact, no such thing as “empty ritual” in Judaism. Everything has a reason, and a good one, too.
Too many young people were put off by tradition because some cheder or Talmud Torah teacher didn’t take their questions seriously. They were silenced with a wave of the hand, a pinch of the ear, the classic “when you get older, you’ll understand,” or the infamously classic, “just do as you’re told.”
There are answers. There have always been answers. We may not have logical explanations for tsunamis and other tzuris, but all our traditions are founded on substance and have intelligible, credible underpinnings. If we seek answers, we will find them in abundance, including layers and layers of meaning, from the simple to the symbolic to the philosophical and even mystical.
The seventh day of Passover recalls the “Song of the Sea” sung by Moses and the Jewish people following the splitting of the sea and their miraculous deliverance from the Egyptian armies. Early on, we find the verse, “This is my God and I will glorify Him, the God of my fathers, and I will exalt Him.”
The sequence is significant. First comes “my God,” and only thereafter “the God of my fathers.” In the Amidah prayer, the silent devotion, which is the apex of our daily prayers, we begin addressing the “Almighty, as our God and the God of our fathers … Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Again, “our God” comes first. So while the God of our fathers, i.e., tradition, most definitely plays a very important role in Judaism, an indispensable prerequisite is that we must make God ours, personally. Every Jew must develop a personal relationship with God. We need to understand the reasons and the significance of our traditions lest they be mistaken for empty ritual to be discarded by the next generation.
Authentic Judaism has never shied away from questions. Questions have always been encouraged and formed a part of our academic heritage. Every page of the Talmud is filled with questions and answers. You don’t have to wait for the Passover seder to ask a question.
When we think, ask and find answers to our faith, the traditions of our grandparents become alive, and we understand fully why we should make them ours. Once a tradition has become ours and we realize that this very same practice has been observed uninterruptedly by our ancestors throughout the generations, then tradition becomes a powerful force that can inspire us forever.
The seders we celebrated at the beginning of Passover are among the most powerful in our faith. They go back to our ancestors in Egypt, where the very first seder was observed. How truly awesome is it that we are still practicing these same traditions more than 3,300 years later!
Our traditions are not empty. They are rich and meaningful and will, please God, be held on to preciously for generations to come.
With acknowledgments to Chabad.org.
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Thousands of Protesters Rally Against Trump Across US
“Protect Migrants, Protect the Planet” rally in New York City, U.S., April 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs
Thousands of protesters rallied in Washington and other cities across the US on Saturday to voice their opposition to President Donald Trump’s policies on deportations, government firings, and the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
Outside the White House, protesters carried banners that read “Workers should have the power,” “No kingship,” “Stop arming Israel” and “Due process,” media footage showed.
Some demonstrators chanted in support of migrants whom the Trump administration has deported or has been attempting to deport while expressing solidarity with people fired by the federal government and with universities whose funding is threatened by Trump.
“As Trump and his administration mobilize the use of the US deportation machine, we are going to organize networks and systems of resistance to defend our neighbors,” a protester said in a rally at Lafayette Square near the White House.
Other protesters waved Palestinian flags while wearing keffiyeh scarves, chanting “free Palestine” and expressing solidarity with Palestinians killed in Israel’s war in Gaza.
Some demonstrators carried symbols expressing support for Ukraine and urging Washington to be more decisive in opposing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Since his January inauguration, Trump and his billionaire ally, Elon Musk, have gutted the federal government, firing over 200,000 workers and attempting to dismantle various agencies.
The administration has also detained scores of foreign students and threatened to stop federal funding to universities over diversity, equity and inclusion programs, climate initiatives and pro-Palestinian protests. Rights groups have condemned the policies.
Near the Washington Monument, banners from protesters read: “hate never made any nation great” and “equal rights for all does not mean less rights for you.”
Demonstrations were also held in New York City and Chicago, among dozens of other locations. It marked the second day of nationwide demonstrations since Trump took office.
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