What makes you think Jewish people in these countries may be in danger?

The countries of the former Soviet Union, and Russia in particular, have a long history of anti-Semitism. In the 1800's, anti-Semitism was a powerful force in European politics. People discriminated against Jews on racial rather than merely religious grounds. Certain political writers insisted that the Jews were an inferior race while others sought to "expose" a supposed secret Jewish conspiracy to rule the world. A popular monograph during that period was a forgery entitled The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, which purports to be an instruction manual for a Jewish-led plan for world domination.

In those days, countries that were experiencing political and economic upheaval found that their small, largely defenseless Jewish populations made a convenient scapegoat for their problems. In Russia, especially, many people were convinced that the Jews were responsible for their troubles. In 1881, for example, when revolutionaries assassinated Czar Alexander II of Russia, the Jewish people were blamed. Multitudes of Russian Jews were then killed in organized massacres called pogroms.

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