The Times of Israel https://www.timesofisrael.com/topic/russian-jews/ News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World Fri, 12 Jun 2026 06:03:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://static-cdn.toi-media.com/www/uploads/2018/11/toi_icon_512-200x200.png Russian Jews | The Times of Israel https://www.timesofisrael.com/topic/russian-jews/ 32 32 Leading rabbi says he rejected mass Russian conversion plan mulled in Epstein audio https://www.timesofisrael.com/leading-rabbi-says-he-rejected-mass-russian-conversion-plan-mulled-in-epstein-audio/ Sat, 07 Feb 2026 04:20:45 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3749787 After ex-Israeli PM Ehud Barak heard backing engineering demographics, exiled Moscow chief rabbi reveals former minister asked him about matter, says it sounded 'extremely racist'

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]]> They came seeking freedom: Russian-speaking Jews bore the brunt of Bondi attack https://www.timesofisrael.com/they-came-seeking-freedom-russian-speaking-jews-bore-the-brunt-of-bondi-attack/ Thu, 18 Dec 2025 17:26:45 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3715178 Many victims of the Hanukkah terror attack near Sydney had roots in the former Soviet Union, a community accounting for as much as a quarter of Australia's Jews

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]]> Jewish graves in Dagestan destroyed; authorities say it was an accident https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-graves-in-dagestan-destroyed-authorities-say-it-was-an-accident/ Sat, 20 Jul 2024 17:43:48 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3335890 Makhachkala official says tombstones damaged after driver lost control, motorist reportedly pledges to fix damage

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]]> Dagestani Jews determined to rebuild after deadly terror attacks in southern Russia https://www.timesofisrael.com/dagestani-jews-determined-to-rebuild-after-deadly-terror-attacks-in-southern-russia/ Sat, 29 Jun 2024 08:15:37 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3321331 After destruction of 110-year-old Derbent synagogue, a center for Jewish life in the region, rabbi says local community is 'not going to hide behind high walls and be intimidated'

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]]> Russia says it thwarted Islamic State plot to attack Moscow synagogue https://www.timesofisrael.com/russia-says-it-thwarted-islamic-state-plot-to-attack-moscow-synagogue/ Thu, 07 Mar 2024 14:21:16 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3240226 State media says suspects resisted arrest, were 'neutralized' by return fire; authorities seize weapons, improvised explosive during raid

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]]> Moscow Jews say they’re unsurprised by antisemitic riot at Dagestan airport https://www.timesofisrael.com/moscow-jews-say-theyre-unsurprised-by-antisemitic-riot-at-dagestan-airport/ Mon, 30 Oct 2023 22:19:34 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3139736 Kippa-clad teacher near synagogue in Russian capital calls Sunday rampage 'frightening'; teacher at Jewish school says mob was made up of 'people who don't know or understand much'

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]]> Israel-based founder of Russian tech giant Yandex slams ‘barbaric war’ in Ukraine https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-based-founder-of-russian-tech-giant-yandex-slams-barbaric-war-in-ukraine/ Thu, 10 Aug 2023 15:11:57 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3069304 Although entrepreneur Arkady Volozh moved to Israel in 2014, he says he must accept 'share of responsibility for Russia’s actions'

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]]> Russian speakers relish a user-friendly Shavuot, and its pro-conversion message https://www.timesofisrael.com/russian-speakers-relish-a-user-friendly-shavuot-and-its-pro-conversion-message/ Thu, 25 May 2023 12:01:26 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3021330 An organization that helps build communities of newcomers from former Soviet countries has adapted the Jewish holiday's all-night study tradition

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]]> Russian director, writer held on terror charges for play on women lured to Syria https://www.timesofisrael.com/russian-director-writer-held-on-terror-charges-for-play-on-women-lured-to-syria/ Sun, 07 May 2023 10:43:32 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3009876 Zhenya Berkovich, who is Jewish, and Svetlana Petriychuk accused over prize-winning work depicting how authorities treat those convinced by radical Islamists to travel to warzone

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]]> The legacy of Isaac Babel, Russia’s Jewish Hemingway, is dissected in a new play https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-legacy-of-isaac-babel-russias-jewish-hemingway-is-dissected-in-a-new-play/ Sat, 08 Apr 2023 09:06:55 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2987994 Running at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater through April 9, 'Describe the Night' looks at the writer who popularized stories about Russia's underworld before being executed in 1940

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]]> Russian Jewish population down sharply since 2010, pre-Ukraine war census indicates https://www.timesofisrael.com/russian-jewish-population-down-sharply-in-last-decade-pre-ukraine-war-census-shows/ Wed, 11 Jan 2023 04:09:56 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2922330 2021 survey shows half as many people now identify as Jews, from 160,000 in 2010 to 83,000; estimates do not account for mass exodus of Jews since outbreak of conflict

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]]> Exiled Moscow chief rabbi: Jews should leave Russia before they are scapegoated https://www.timesofisrael.com/exiled-moscow-chief-rabbi-jews-should-leave-russia-before-they-are-scapegoated/ Sun, 01 Jan 2023 10:53:03 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2914131 Amid rising antisemitism, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt warns that historical precedent indicates Jewish community will be blamed for country's problems

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]]> Daily Briefing Dec. 13: IDF examines Jenin death; Haredim push religion in the state https://www.timesofisrael.com/daily-briefing-dec-6-idf-examine-a-jenin-death-haredim-push-religion-in-the-state/ Tue, 13 Dec 2022 11:43:33 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2898130 Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian talks about IDF shooting and Gaza catfishing as religion reporter Judah Ari Gross discusses United Torah Judaism's plans

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]]> Top Russian security official apologizes after deputy calls Chabad a cult https://www.timesofisrael.com/top-russian-security-official-apologizes-after-deputy-calls-chabad-a-cult/ Fri, 28 Oct 2022 14:13:02 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2861741&preview=true&preview_id=2861741 Spokesman for Russian Jewish community says he appreciates the retraction, notes historical rarity of a Russian general apologizing for antisemitism

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]]> Ex-Moscow chief rabbi calls on Russia Jews to flee after top official attacks Chabad https://www.timesofisrael.com/ex-moscow-chief-rabbi-calls-on-russia-jews-to-flee-after-top-official-attacks-chabad/ Thu, 27 Oct 2022 11:59:59 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=2860730&preview=true&preview_id=2860730 Community finds itself in the crosshairs after Russian national security official calls Hasidic sect, the largest Jewish movement in the former Soviet Union, a supremacist cult

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