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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia | |
| Jewish community of Georgia noted the absence of anti-Semitism in the country | |
| 2023-11-04 | |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [KavkazUzel] The rally in support of Palestine in Marneuli was one of the few such protests and is associated with insufficient socio-cultural integration of local residents into Georgian life, the political scientist believes. Representatives of Jewish communities considered the situation safe and stated that there were no manifestations of anti-Semitism. The "Caucasian Knot" wrote that on October 15, a rally in support of Israel took place in Tbilisi. Citizens of Georgia and Russia gathered at the rally at the Rustaveli monument. The action, organized by the youth group STEP, brought together about 200 people. On October 31, participants in a rally in Marneuli supported Palestine, saying that the silence of the Georgian authorities regarding the deaths of civilians was support for Israeli actions, and marched through the city with Palestinian flags. The action in Marneuli was a one-off event, said Georgiy Mchedlishvili, an associate professor at the University of Europe (Georgia), a former adviser to the political department of the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a former lecturer at Bosphorus University (Istanbul). “Marneuli is a region inhabited by Muslim Azerbaijanis, some of whom do not even speak Georgian. If politically and economically the region is integrated into Georgia, then in the socio-cultural sense this integration is insufficient, hence the fact that they were captured by this wave. Although there were not very many of them there - about 100 people. For example, there is Adjara and Batumi. The population there is also Muslim, but Georgian-speaking, and there is no such barrier as with the residents of Marneuli, and there are no speeches of this kind either. By the way, it is interesting that many The Georgian media didn’t even pay attention to it as unimportant,” he noted. According to him, besides this action, the only pro-Palestinian action was the action of Tbilisi University medical students from Iran and Jordan, who came out with Palestinian flags and damaged the Israeli flag. Video footage of the removal of the Israeli flag installed on the fence of the Tbilisi State Medical University building on Vazha-Pshavela Avenue and its damage were published on social networks. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia has launched an investigation under an administrative article regarding the desecration of the flag or emblem of a state with which Georgia has diplomatic relations, established/exhibited by a state institution, Radio Liberty reported on October 19. Georgia is generally a pro-Israeli country, Mchedlishvili noted. “Including because of the large community of Georgian Jews who partially resettled in Israel. When these terrible events took place, the TV tower in Tbilisi was illuminated in the colors of the Israeli flag, and many officials signed the book of condolences at the Israeli embassy,” he noted. Representatives of the Jewish community in Georgia stated that there were no manifestations of anti-Semitism. Representatives of the Jewish community of Georgia interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" also assured that there were no manifestations of anti-Semitism after October 7. The Tbilisi community "Beit Chabad" told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the situation in the country is "good." “We have not received any threats,” they assured. Gabay (elder) of the synagogue in Gori, Simon said that the Jews did not and do not have problems with the residents of the city. “We communicate normally. But when this happened,” they took measures to ensure that there was security so that people could go to the synagogue calmly," he said. The gabai of the synagogue in Akhaltsikhe Siman-Tov also noted that Jews feel “safe.” “We took some measures just in case, but we have no manifestations of anti-Semitism,” he emphasized. Let us remind you that the Jewish community in Georgia reported on October 12 that it feels safe in the country amid the worsening situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone. On October 22, it became known that a Georgian resident who disappeared at a music festival in Israel was found dead.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili reported on her Facebook page* on October 13 about her meeting with the Israeli Ambassador to Georgia. “In this difficult time, the Georgian people express their support and solidarity for Israel and stand with its people!” - she wrote on social networks. On the same day, the head of the Georgian Foreign Ministry “confirmed to the Israeli diplomat Georgia’s strong support for the state of Israel,” the department’s website says. The "Caucasian Knot" also wrote that Muslims of the North Caucasus reacted sharply to the new escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In Chechnya, the clergy organizes daily mass prayers in support of Palestine; the Muftiate of Dagestan reported on October 28 that thousands of participants participated in prayers for the Palestinians. Information about who and how in the North Caucasus expressed support for Palestine is collected in the “Caucasian Knot” document “ Actions in support of Palestine in the North Caucasus .” In a number of republics of the North Caucasus, mass anti-Semitic actions took place from October 26 to 29. In Cherkessk, protesters demanded that visitors from Israel not be allowed in; in Khasavyurt, refugees from Israel must be evicted from their hotel; and in Nalchik, a cultural center was burned down. On October 29, mass riots occurred at Makhachkala airport due to reports of the arrival of a plane with passengers from Israel. More than 20 people were injured in the riots, including nine police officers, according to the Caucasian Knot report “ Anti-Semitic actions in the North Caucasus: how it happened.” | |
| Posted by:badanov |