New York, NY, March 11, 2018 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today voiced deep concern at remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin suggesting Jews and other minorities in the Russian Federation could be behind the meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections.
President Putin, asked in an interview with NBC News if the hacking was sponsored by the Russian government, stated: “Maybe they’re not even Russians. Maybe they’re Ukrainians, Tatars, Jews, just with Russian citizenship. Even that needs to be checked. Maybe they have dual citizenship. Or maybe a green card. Maybe it was the Americans who paid them for this work. How do you know? I don’t know.”
Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO, issued the following statement:
As the Russian government faces expanding evidence and new questions about possible meddling in U.S. elections, President Putin bizarrely has resorted to the blame game by pointing the finger at Jews and other minorities in his country.
It is deeply disturbing to see the Russian president giving new life to classic anti-Semitic stereotypes that have plagued his country for hundreds of years, with a comment that sounds as if it was ripped from the pages of the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion.”
We live in a moment when anti-Semitic violence is on the rise and words can have profound consequences, particularly when spoken by public figures or elected officials like President Putin. We hope he swiftly clarifies his words before they cause further damage to those communities he has singled out.
The Anti-Defamation League was founded in 1913 to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. Today it is the world’s leading organization combating anti-Semitism, exposing hate groups, training law enforcement on hate crimes, developing anti-bias education programs for students, countering cyber-hate and relentlessly pursuing equal rights for all. Follow us on Twitter: @ADL_National