Chief rabbi of Russia asks to provide security to religious figures
MOSCOW. Dec 23 (Interfax) - Russia's chief rabbi Berl Lazar believes the state should protect religious figures.
"We are asking law enforcement agencies to do everything to ensure that religious figures feel confident and to ensure their safety," Lazar told a press conference in Moscow on Monday, commenting on the recent assassination attack against Ovadya Isakov, the rabbi of the Dagestani city of Derbent, and the numerous attacks and killings of Islamic figures.
Lazar also said the Jewish community plans to open synagogues and community centers in Krasnoyarsk, Tomsk, Tyumen, Vladivostok, Birobidzhan, Kaluga, Bryansk, Abakan, Kaliningrad, Arkhanagelsk, Sochi, and Novozybkov in 2014. Alexander Boroda, president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FJCR), earlier said that another five synagogues will be built in Moscow.
Lazar also said anti-Semitism is declining in Russia, while at the same time expressing concerns about ethnic relations. He called for opening tolerance centers similar to centers already functioning in Moscow in other Russian cities.
