Resurgence of Russian Anti-Semitism.

A decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union, anti-Semitism is "alive and well in Russia," but the government has not developed an effective system of combating it, according to an American Jewish Committee (AJC) report. It points out that the resurgence of anti-Semitism comes as a number of Russian Jews, few of whom openly identify themselves as Jewish, have attained prominent positions in the country's business and political communities.

The same openness that allowed Jews to rise to prominence in recent years also has tolerated increased anti-Semitic expression--not only by nationalistic extremist groups, but by the Communist Party, the largest faction in the Russian Parliament. The Parliament rejected proposals to censure two communist lawmakers for their anti-Semitic pronouncements. Meanwhile, verbal attacks on government officials and business leaders with Jewish lineage have increased as the Russian economy deteriorated. "The malicious attacks prove that post-communist Russia still has a long way to go in overcoming a deeply rooted tradition of anti-Semitism," AJC executive director...