The trend noted in two previous reports towards a reduction of registered manifestations of anti-Semitism in different social spheres has continued in 2010. The number of incidents with violence against Jews and vandalism remains low. Anti-Semitism has practically disappeared from the public political discourse in the governing institutions, including the parliament, where it had been used quite intensively a mere 5 years ago. This year, there were 3 events involving violence, 1 desecration of graves, 13 attacks on buildings of synagogues or Jewish organizations, 25 incidents of anti-Semitic signs and graffiti. Overall, 45 incidents were registered by the various agencies monitoring anti-Semitism in Russia. This number is in a sharp contrast with the data concerning the visible growth of anti-Semitic incidents and attitudes in Western Europe, let alone in the Muslim countries of the Near East. In that same year, 639 anti-Semitic incidents took place in England alone, and other European countries have had a comparable number of anti-Semitic events.

So-called “neo-Antisemitism,” which aims at holding large-scale events against Israel, with the eventual goal of Israel's final delegitimization, and which has become widespread in the West in recent years, has not played any kind of noticeable role in Russia as of yet. The turbulent events that payed out in the Near East in 2010 have not sparked any noticeable or violent reactions from the public. As the events after the forceful detainment of the so-called “Freedom Flotilla” by Israel showed, at the end of May 2010 Russia did not have any real forces that would take an anti-Israeli stance and be capable of generating mass campaigns in support of the Palestinians. Right now, without the support of TV channels, which are mostly controlled by the government, it turned out to be impossible to hold any truly massive anti-Israeli demonstrations. However, according to the polls, a slow yet steady growth has been recorded of Russians who believe that the Palestinian Arabs are in the right concerning the Palestine-Israel conflict. The number grew from 9-10% in 2007-2008 to 14% in 2010. This shows a growing trend of new anti-Semitism. It can also be noted that the more radical “Orthodox” anti-Semites have been drifting towards a situational alliance with radical Islamists due to a joint hatred of Jews and Israel. It can be said that anti-Semitism of the old, right-wing radical type is still prevalent in Russia, and carried by the same social groups as previously – different kinds of nationalists, pochvenniks, black-hundretists, religious fundamentalists (including Islamists and groups close to them). But only a very small minority openly calls itself anti-Semitic – the VCIOM data for the last several years show that the number of open anti-Semites is stable around 2-3% percent. This means that the number of open anti-Semites has fallen – in the mid-2000s, this number was around 7-8%.

This situation can in part be explained by imperfect monitoring, including the monitoring done by the police, since Jews, who live dispersedly in the cities, are usually unnoticeable in the crowd. But the obvious reduction of the level of anti-Semitism and especially anti-Israelism in a country that yet preserves a fairly high, if decreasing, level of general xenophobia, and especially when compared with the growth of such attitudes in the West, requires some sort of other explanation. The possible reasons for this are analyzed in the conclusion to this report, after all of the factual material.

It should, however, be noted that while the process of decrease in anti-Semitic manifestations, while encouraging, does not provide reason for complacency and subsidence. First of all, the fact that Russian society now looks not to the Jews, but to natives of the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the “Third World” countries is not much consolation for the Jews. The Jewish organizations of Russia work with different national unions of minority ethnicities of Russia (federal national-cultural autonomies, the Assembly of the Peoples of Russia, Union of Diasporas of Russia, and others), as well as with government and non-governmental structures to counteract xenophobia and extremism. Second, it should be remembered that anti-Semitism remains a necessary part of the radical nationalist worldview, and continues to manifest itself through this venue in very different spheres of public life, in both a latent and obvious manner. The mass consciousness still carries living anti-Semitic phobias. According to surveys conducted in May ad August 2010, 25% of Russians refuse to live next to Jews, and 46% of Russians are uncomfortable with their relatives marrying Jews.

Radical nationalists still use human rights rhetoric to justify anti-Semitic crimes and offenses.

Russian officials have made several statements on the necessity of counteractive xenophobia and anti-Semitism in 2010. When characterizing the law enforcement practice in cases of anti-Semitic crimes and offenses, a significantly high number of convicts should be noted (56 people), as well as the suppression of 5 organizations, in which anti-Semitism was a part of their ideology. These measures, naturally, aided in lowering the intensity of anti-Semitism, even though society is still far from dealing a final blow to the adherents of anti-Semitism. There were still cases on record when the law enforcement agencies made decisions openly in favor of radical nationalists.