Russia rejects Netanyahu’s accusations of involvement in antisemitic online campaign

Russia has rejected accusations by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concerning Moscow’s alleged involvement in an antisemitic online campaign, Anadolu agency reported.

The Russian Foreign Ministry told state news agency Tass on Thursday that it was “perplexed” by the “entirely unsubstantiated accusations,” saying attempts to claim Moscow operated such a campaign appeared “particularly absurd.”

It said that this is so, “given a fact well known to – and repeatedly acknowledged in public by – the Israeli side, that thanks to the Russian leadership’s policy of strengthening interethnic peace and harmony, manifestations of antisemitism in our country are virtually non-existent.”

On Sunday, Israel’s i24 News reported that Netanyahu, in response to a question from the news channel, accused Russia of “aiding Iran and using artificial intelligence to operate antisemitic bot networks targeting Israel and Jews worldwide.”

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The ministry noted that it is regrettable Netanyahu’s remarks came on the 35th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic ties between the two countries, and that it took note of his statements concerning Moscow’s alleged bot activities.

“Yet, as early as 2018, Russia proposed that Israel enter into a bilateral agreement on cooperation in the sphere of information security – a proposal to which no response was ever received,” the ministry said, noting this “could have prevented problems from arising out of thin air.”

It also described that it is “regrettable” Netanyahu chose to engage “in media-driven allegations” ahead of Israel’s legislative election scheduled for Tuesday rather than fostering dialogue between relevant experts on cybersecurity issues, noting this is not the first time Russia has “encountered such fakes.”

“There is a well-known Russian expression: ‘Shifting the blame from a sick head to a healthy one.’ Perhaps this is precisely such a case. It is clear that the world’s attitude toward Israel is determined solely by the course of action taken by its own authorities,” it added.

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