xxxxx probed for potential U.S. sanctions against
investors in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and flagged concern
over Iran's nuclear program.
Both xxxxx agreed that
manifestations of anti-Semitism in Russia had fallen in
recent years, but xxxxx attributed Putin's relatively
pro-Jewish stance to his need to not appear anti-Semitic
during his campaign against the oligarchs. Regarding the
Jewish community, xxxxx praised the positive effects of
Russia's explosion of wealth, while xxxxx linked economic
expansion to a negative shift in the occupational and
educational interests of the Russian Jewry. Both xxxxx
added that immigration from Israel to Russia vastly exceeded
Russian emigration to Israel, but xxxxx noted the
reduced Israeli financial support because of the falling
dollar. End Summary.
xxxxx noted that the chance for a reversal of fortune for Russian Jews
existed, characterizing Russia as a country of extremes. He
drew an analogy to Gorbachev's prohibition of alcohol and the
Russian penchant to drink excessively as a manifestation of
these extremes.
xxxxx more cautiously agreed that
anti-Semitism was not widespread -- especially in Russia's
political sphere -- as it had been in past years. However, he
attributed this change, in part, to Putin's conscious desire
to appear unbiased in his campaign against Russia's
predominately Jewish oligarchs.