Russian Jewish

Russian-Israeli released from Libyan jail after breaking into Tripoli synagogue

The man, who lives in Russia, entered through a border crossing between Tunisia and Libya. 

Interior of abandoned Dar Bishi synagogue in the Libyan capital Tripoli. Illustrative.
PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu lights a candle alongside the memorial wall at the National Library.

Grapevine, October 19, 2025: Remembering at the National Library

SINCE THE outbreak of the Ukraine-Russia War in 2022, some 80,000 Russians and 20,000 Ukrainians and Belarusians with Jewish ancestry have made aliyah. Here, people attend a ceremony marking the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Tel Aviv in February 2024.

Russian Jews seek a home in Israel as Ukraine war drives aliyah wave

Israeli-born Or Cohen stands with his Ukrainian wife, Anya, and their 3-year-old son Adam, in the backyard of their farmhouse in Novokatovsk, a Transnistrian village right on the border with Ukraine, June 2025.

Transnistria’s Jews find themselves caught in a Soviet time warp as Ukraine war rages next door


Netanyahu meets with Ukraine Chief Rabbi, promises to help end war if reelected

Netanyahu filmed a short statement along with Rabbi Reuven Asman, speaking about how he intends to act regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war if he wins the upcoming elections.

 Screenshot from video of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Rabbi Reuven Asman, one of Ukraine's Chief Rabbis.

Is Russian Jewry at risk? - opinion

Jewish life in Russia is normal - Shuls are full, schools are operating and the community is alive.

THE INTERIOR of the Grand Choral Synagogue of St. Petersburg, Russia, is seen.

On This Day: 70 years since 13 Jews are killed in Night of Murdered Poets

The killing of Soviet Jewish poets was seen as a crackdown against the Jewish Anti-fascist Committee and part of Stalin's increasingly antisemitic policies before his death.

 Albert Einstein (Middle) is seen standing between Yiddish poet Itzik Feffer and Russian Jewish actor Solomon Mikhoels in 1943. Feffer would be killed in the Night of the Murdered Poets, while Mikhoels was killed in what may have been an assassination ordered by Joseph Stalin.

Israeli delegation 'disappointed' as Jewish Agency talks with Russia reach dead end

No further meetings were scheduled and no decisions were made following a dead end in talks between Israeli and Russian officials in Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin enters a hall in the Kremlin in Moscow on April 26, 2022.

Multiple Russian-Jewish organizations sent warnings by Russian gov't - exclusive

Similarly to the Jewish Agency, multiple other Russian-Jewish organizations have received warning letters from the Russian government.

 A view shows a sign at the entrance to a Russian branch of the Jewish Agency for Israel, in Moscow, Russia July 21, 2022.

Russia requests closure of Jewish Agency for Israel

The crackdown on the Jewish Agency came as Yair Lapid, who has been vocally critical of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, became prime minister.

 Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in a ceremony to launch a new large-scale production facility at the plant of Bratskchemsyntez drugmaker owned by Pharmasyntez Group, via a video link at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia November 26, 2020

Bank of Israel examining access of immigrant funds in Russia within sanctions

The Bank of Israel said it was aware of the sensitive nature and importance of the issue and was acting within legal and regulatory frameworks.

 THE BANK of Israel headquarters in Jerusalem.

Russian Jews are not a political pawn - editorial

The Jewish community in Russia has grown in recent decades, after mass migration in the 1990s. The current war has led to concerns about their future.

 Russian immigrants (Olim) attend an event marking the 25th anniversary of the great Russian Aliya, immigration, from the former Soviet Union to Israel, at the Jerusalem Convention Center, on December 24, 2015.

How will banning the Jewish Agency affect Russian Jews? - analysis

There are 150,000 Jews in Russia’s “core Jewish population,” but more than half a million are entitled to receive Israeli citizenship.

The Jewish Agency headquarters in Jerusalem

Israeli chief rabbis: Don’t overrule Moscow’s chief rabbi

Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt is currently in Israel but is overseeing his community from afar. Israel's chief rabbis wrote to Russian Jewish authorities to keep it that way.

 President of the Conference of European Rabbis Pinchas Goldschmidt talks during an interview with Reuters in Vienna, Austria, May 31, 2016.