"We Escaped Antisemitism in Russia Only to Encounter It in the Jewish State"

It recently happened in Haifa. A group of young men approached an elderly man who had just returned from synagogue after Shabbat services. "Have a cigarette. Smoke," one of them told him. The elderly man, whose attire identified him as an observant Jew, declined the "generous offer" and explained to the young men, former Soviet Union immigrants, that it was Shabbat and therefore he could not smoke. It seemed that was what they were waiting for. They attacked him viciously for no reason, his pleas and cries doing nothing to quell the intense hatred displayed by the young men. If it weren’t for a bystander’s intervention, the incident would have likely ended more severely than the minor injuries the elderly man suffered.

This story is told by Natalia Rotenberg, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, who bravely and resourcefully decided to launch a campaign against the antisemitic incitement coming from Avigdor Liberman, leader of the 'Yisrael Beiteinu' party. "This incitement is penetrating society," she tells 'Hidabroot', referencing the event that occurred in Haifa as evidence. "This is not why we came here, to the Jewish state," she adds.

This story is not alone. This week, a rabbi was attacked in Petah Tikva. A man of Russian descent spat at him and hurled various insults. In preparing this current article, we discovered that the antisemitic incitement by 'Yisrael Beiteinu', especially in Russian, is a breeding ground for such severe actions.

At some point, Natalia Rotenberg had enough, and decided to wage war against Liberman, whom she calls "a dangerous man." Initially, she approached members of the Knesset from Likud and other parties. However, after they did not take action, Rotenberg, with her limited resources, decided to start a battle against the long-standing and well-oiled party. She established a website called "Danger from Home", where she and a group of volunteers publish the messages of 'Yisrael Beiteinu' in Russian. "These messages are far harsher than those published by the party in Hebrew," she clarifies. Former Soviet Union immigrants tell 'Hidabroot' that 'Yisrael Beiteinu' has a good reason to hide the content they publish in Russian. "It’s harsh content, and the reactions to it are even harsher," one activist helping Rotenberg says.

'Yisrael Beiteinu's campaign in Russian, concealed until Rotenberg's fight and other volunteers, became visible to all. Liberman's true face was exposed to the public in Israel.

(Photo: Flash 90)

"Years I Hid Being Jewish"

For Rotenberg, her fight is aimed at preventing the return of sights she witnessed in her youth under communist rule. "The Soviet Union was an openly antisemitic state," she says. "For years, I hid my Judaism. And despite the concealment, those around us made sure to remind us of our Judaism time and again. We faced various restrictions, couldn’t get accepted to universities, or participate in the labor market like any other citizen. We had to deal with these limitations just because we were Jewish. My grandfather worked for years in a particular position at a factory without being promoted. When I asked him once why he wasn’t promoted, the simple and painful answer was: 'Because I'm Jewish.'

"I was a z'iditchka from kindergarten, without even knowing what Judaism and Torah are. I discovered that Torah belonged to the Jews only when I arrived here at age 34," Rotenberg says. "Until then, I lived in a country where the word Jew was a derogatory term. The public cannot imagine what it's like living in exile, the alienation, and hardship of such life in a hostile environment. I am very happy to have the chance to live freely in this country today – the Jewish state. And I will not let someone like Liberman ruin it for me," she says with pain.

Like Rotenberg, other activists talking to us remember their time behind the Iron Curtain. They had to hide their Judaism and face institutional antisemitism. For them, their current struggle is to ensure "never again" – that antisemitism in Israel quickly lowers its head.

According to a prominent activist in the fight against 'Yisrael Beiteinu', the reason he joined Rotenberg's struggle is "I am fed up with seeing and reading what I saw on social networks. The violent discourse has become simply disgusting, and I decided I didn’t want to tolerate it". He, like Rotenberg, belongs to the immigrant community from the Soviet Union. "There were some points that were very significant for me, like one of the videos that shocked me the most." As a protest step, he increased his involvement on social networks, confronting people posting antisemitic incitement.

He confesses to us that he felt alone against the thousands of incited people and the slick party mechanism. This feeling changed after Natalia Rotenberg's interview with the 'Makor Rishon' newspaper. Then many in the Russian community realized they were not the only ones disgusted by the harsh antisemitic incitement.

Rotenberg started her fight against 'Yisrael Beiteinu' by approaching Knesset members from Likud. In her approach, Rotenberg detailed to the Knesset members the antisemitic incitement being done in Russian, urging them to intervene before it was too late. "I asked the Knesset members," Rotenberg recounts, "how they allow this to happen, how the entire country isn’t agitated by these harsh matters?" But her request went unanswered.

(Photo: Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Attempted Silencing

On the 'Danger from Home' website that Rotenberg established, not only campaign videos are translated but also hate speech comments made by responders on 'Yisrael Beiteinu’s' Facebook pages. For example, in a response post to an inciting message by Dov Gelman, a council member from the party in Ashdod city, one commenter wrote, "Hitler was right! I’d put a yellow star on them and send them to Auschwitz..."

In a recording published recently, a caricature is shown where a Haredi Jew is depicted dancing on money bills. Similar depictions involving Haredim and money are massively distributed by 'Yisrael Beiteinu' and its supporters.

Rotenberg continues to upload the party’s problematic content to her site. For her, this is the least she can do against antisemitism in Israel. Running the site costs her $100 a year, which she pays from her pocket. But 'Yisrael Beiteinu' perceives her as nothing less than a figure intended to harm the party. Bizarrely enough, 'Yisrael Beiteinu' claims that Rotenberg and other activists against it are operated by a foreign entity aiming to harm the party. "That’s nonsense," Rotenberg tells us. "I am a website designer by profession, which allowed me to open the 'Danger from Home' site, which contains only five pages. By the way, Liberman knows me. At one point, there was a Knesset member in his party named Yuli Stern z"l, who helped me immigrate during the communist regime," she says.

As part of an effort to silence Rotenberg, a police complaint was filed against her. The 'Yisrael Beiteinu' party even sent Rotenberg a letter signed by the party’s attorney demanding she immediately shut down the site.

However, Rotenberg and other activists are not afraid and do not intend to succumb to Liberman’s plan to silence them. "If they thought that filing a lawsuit via an attorney plus a threatening letter to Natalia is enough to take down Rotenberg and her site, they quickly realized that their attempt to silence us would end in nothing," declares Max Brodski, one of the activists. Rotenberg joins the conversation and adds that she intends to continue fighting until the end. "Liberman doesn’t scare me," she asserts.

Another activist in the fight against 'Yisrael Beiteinu’s' incitement tells us: "What are they afraid of? After all, we are publishing their own campaign. It only shows they have something to hide." He notes, 'Yisrael Beiteinu’s' campaign is hard and includes even harsher reactions, some using Holocaust symbols and images of Nazis abusing Jews, shockingly portraying the Nazis as the 'good side' in the story. "No wonder the party fears that we will publicize it widely," he adds.

"I think both the left and right, and even Tibi, would say antisemitism is not a good thing," he says, "Antisemitism in the State of Israel has changed its form, from anti-Jewish to anti-religious. And I think there’s no difference between antisemitism if it’s directed at a Jew or a religious person," he adds.

Rotenberg adds: "This is literally Nazi propaganda, which appeals to ignorant people who have never seen the Haredim in their lives and now parrot the antisemitic messages of 'Yisrael Beiteinu'. They call religious people 'parasites.' If this isn’t antisemitism, what is?" she wonders.

(Photo: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

A Protest Against Antisemitism

Now, activists are preparing for a convention against antisemitism. "It’s a non-political convention," says Dr. Roman Tzenz, noting that all communities and sectors in Israel are invited to the convention, which will take place on Thursday at 6:30 pm, at HaPisga Street 8, Beit Vagan, Jerusalem. The event will start with a demonstration against antisemitism held there, followed by the convention itself.

If the convention was initially intended for 200 to 300 participants, now the activists believe the number of participants will significantly increase. "Because of the silencing lawsuit published against us, Liberman caused our activity to hit headlines. We have seen many announcements published online, from people planning to attend. This is in addition to organized transport from Haifa and Rehovot."

Regarding funding, they say, they have no funding from specific bodies. "People just reached into their pockets and took out money for this noble cause. Now, we ask you, the citizens of Israel, to come and participate in the event, and demonstrate together the clear and important statement: No to Antisemitism."

Finally, Rotenberg tells us: "I am fighting because Liberman harmed my life’s work. I came to Israel not to continue living in an antisemitic state. He brings antisemites here, and leads them. What I have left – is to expose to Israeli society what he’s doing. We came to Israel, we didn’t emigrate. We dreamed of a Jewish state, not another country."