Anti-Semitic attacks are rare in Russia, report finds

Anti-Semitic attacks in Russia “remained relatively low” in 2011 and 2012 amid rising anti-Muslim vitriol, according to a new report by a Russian-Jewish group.

“During the reviewed period, the number of attacks of anti-Semitic character in Russia has remained relatively low,” according to the report published last week by the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress.

The report lists five physical assaults and 38 instances of anti-Semitic vandalism. The report’s authors wrote that the low level of anti-Semitic attacks correlates with an increase in anti-Muslim vitriol connected to religious tensions in the country’s South.

RIA Novosti, the Russian news service, quoted the report’s authors as saying that “anti-Muslim sentiments have fueled a renewed interest in Israel as a country combating aggressive Islam.”