By MosNews
MOSCOW, Russia - Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Alexander Yakovenko, called the letter signed by thousands of well-known Russian public figures and church officials seeking to ban Jewish organizations an attempt to spoil the relationship between Russia and Israel.
He said such attempts are “inadmissible, no matter from what side they are performed” and promised the ministry will oppose them in the future, Russian Information Agency Novosti reported.
Israel is one of Russia’s main partners in the Middle East, Yakovenko said. He asked the Prosecutor General’s office to “give a proper estimation to the cited action.” Yakovenko reminded the ministry had earlier condemned the similar xenophobic letter published in January in Rus Pravoslavnaya newspaper.
“Our line to extirpate ethnic and religious intolerance, fighting inclinations to arouse anti-Semitism in particular, remains consistent and unchangeable,” the ministry spokesman said.
The letter authors said Judaism is “an extremist and racist ethnicity that hates non-Jews”. The signatories — including former army generals, artists and former chess champion Boris Spassky argued this definition of Judaism makes the activity of Jewish groups illegal.
You Can Help
