Russia calls Netanyahu’s allegations over anti-Semitic campaign ‘ridiculous’

• Russia’s Foreign Ministry says Moscow was perplexed by Benjamin Netanyahu’s allegations linking Russia to an online anti-Semitic campaign.
• The ministry dismissed the accusations as unfounded, arguing that attributing such a campaign to Russia was “ridiculous.”

Moscow has rejected allegations by ‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Russia was involved in an online anti-Semitic campaign, describing the accusations as unfounded and questioning their credibility, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, Oct. 22.

Responding to a question from Russian state news agency TASS, a ministry spokesperson said Moscow was “perplexed” by the allegations, pointing to the longstanding historical ties between Russia and ‘Israel’.

“We were perplexed by these unfounded accusations against our country from the prime minister of Israel, a state that shares a rich common history with Russia,” the spokesperson said.

The ministry further dismissed the suggestion of Russian involvement as “ridiculous,” arguing that Moscow’s policy of promoting interethnic peace and harmony was inconsistent with the accusations.

“Attempts to attribute an anti-Semitic campaign to Russia look ridiculous, given the fact. well known to Israel and repeatedly acknowledged by it, that, thanks to Russia’s policy of strengthening interethnic peace and harmony, there are almost no manifestations of anti-Semitism in our country,” the official added.

Netanyahu had made the allegations on Oct. 18 while presenting ‘Israel’s’ national security doctrine, accusing Moscow of cooperating with Iran and allowing online bot networks to conduct what he described as an anti-Semitic campaign targeting ‘Israel’. The ‘Israeli’ PM has not responded to the Russian foreign ministry statement yet.

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