After October 7, 2023, and then against the backdrop of subsequent Israeli military operations, anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli rhetoric sharply intensified in the post-Soviet space. What initially appeared as a set of marginal outbursts by minor propagandists over time turned into a noticeable element of public discourse — especially in Russia, Belarus, the Caucasus, and parts of Central Asia. In the new wave of this rhetoric, old Soviet anti-Zionism, classic anti-Semitic myths, religious radicalism, and modern conspiracy constructs merged. The material is based on the research of Dr. Nati Kantorovich.
For the Israeli audience, the important thing here is not only the fact of growing hostility.
Much more important is something else: it is no longer about a spontaneous emotional reaction to events in the Middle East, but about the formation of a stable informational environment where Israel and Jews are used as a convenient target for internal mobilization, external propaganda, and ideological heating of society.
How anti-Israeli rhetoric moved from the margins to the mainstream
After October 7, hatred gained a new language
The mass murder orchestrated by Hamas on October 7 and the subsequent Israeli operation became a trigger for a new surge of anti-Israeli sentiments in the post-Soviet space. But a particularly noticeable turning point, as the study shows, occurred later — after the operations “People as a Lion” and “Lion’s Roar.” It was then that hostile rhetoric ceased to be secondary noise on the media periphery and began to penetrate a wider public sphere.
If previously such theses were mainly spread by individual radicals, then they began to be picked up by major pro-government commentators, ideologists, and media figures. In some cases, this was accompanied not only by words but also by real actions — it is enough to recall the anti-Israeli pogroms in the Russian North Caucasus, which became an alarming signal for the entire region.
For Israel, this means that it is not just about reputational attacks. A broader problem arises: in the neighboring informational space for the Jewish diaspora, the image of Israel as a universal enemy is being entrenched, and the Jewish theme as a tool of political manipulation.
External players have entered the game
One of the most dangerous features of the new stage was the strengthening of external influence. The study indicates that Iranian, Hamas, and Turkish propaganda motives began to penetrate the post-Soviet discourse even earlier, but it was in the latest stages of the conflict that they became a noticeable part of the mainstream. It is no longer about background noise, but about a systematic infusion of anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli narratives into the Russian-speaking and regional media field.
This became especially sensitive for the Muslim regions of the Caucasus and Central Asia, where such messages are presented through religious rhetoric, appeals to “protect Islam,” and old myths about the “Jewish conspiracy.”
As a result, anti-Israeli propaganda ceases to be only a political tool — it begins to work as a mechanism of radicalization.
That is why the topic raised by NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency, is important not only as a review of media trends. It is a matter of the security of Jewish communities, the stability of Israeli-diaspora relations, and understanding how anti-Semitism is once again adapting to a new geopolitical context.
What myths and accusations are working against Israel today
“Israel controls the USA” and other old schemes in new packaging
One of the most persistent motives is the notion of alleged Jewish or Israeli control over the United States.
In this logic, Washington is depicted not as an independent player, but almost as a servicing mechanism in the interests of Israel. This thesis is convenient for several audiences at once: it allows explaining any Middle Eastern crises through conspiracy and simultaneously reinforces the old anti-Semitic myth of “world Jewish domination.”
The study separately points out that the “Epstein case” has begun to be integrated into this scheme. The name Jeffrey Epstein is used as a euphemism, replacing the direct word “Jews” in anti-Semitic propaganda. Expressions like “Epstein coalition,” “Epstein gang,” and other similar formulas appear. Essentially, this is an attempt to create a new propaganda code, understandable to the audience and convenient for bypassing direct accusations of anti-Semitism.
Such language is especially dangerous because it quickly spreads on social networks, where crude hatred is masked as “irony,” “analytics,” or “anti-system criticism.”
From anti-Zionism to religious demonization
The second major line is the demonization of Israel through religious and pseudo-religious plots. The study provides examples of claims that Israel allegedly seeks to “cleanse the Middle East” for the construction of the Third Temple, that Jews allegedly profess ideas of destroying “goyim,” and strikes on Iran are even described as “sacrifice.”
This is no longer just political agitation. This is the language of medieval libels, translated into a modern digital format. Here, accusations of “ritual murders,” motives of “chosenness,” and attempts to once again use the theme of the crucifixion of Christ as a weapon against Jews come to life. In some circles, the so-called “replacement theory” is simultaneously being revived, according to which the Jewish people allegedly lost their place in biblical history, and the “true Israel” became the church or even specifically the Russian people.
For the Israeli reader, it is important to understand this very clearly: such constructs rarely remain just words. History shows that it is precisely such myths that often become a transitional bridge from aggression on the air to aggression on the street.
The Holocaust is being pushed out of public memory
Another noticeable trend is the attack on the very memory of the Holocaust.
The study records calls to stop honoring its victims under the pretext of the actions of modern Israel, as well as attempts to deprive Jews of the status of historical genocide victims. At the same time, the role of the Iranian regime in systematically denying the Holocaust at the international level is ignored.
This is not a random set of slogans. This is how the logic of “competitive victimhood” works, in which some tragedies are deliberately pitted against others, and memory is turned into a tool of ideological struggle. For the Jewish world and for Israel, this is one of the most sensitive fronts: not only modern politics but also basic historical truth is under attack.
Why this is especially dangerous for Israel and Jewish communities
Russia and Belarus are becoming a separate risk zone
The study emphasizes that in Russia and Belarus, the situation differs from other countries in the region.
If in some states of the Caucasus and Asia the language of hatred mainly lives on social networks and is sometimes strictly limited by the authorities, then in Russia and Belarus, well-known pro-government propagandists and ideologists are involved in its dissemination. Moreover, in Belarus, according to the study, these are often representatives of the very top layer of the regime’s media system.
In Russia, the picture is somewhat different: the most radical anti-Israeli theses are still more often promoted by figures of the second or third tier of the propaganda apparatus. But there, too, dangerous episodes are recorded when hostile conspiracy campaigns are created from ordinary comments about Israel — with accusations of control, threats, and interference.
This creates a double challenge for Israel. On the one hand, the official level may still maintain external restraint. On the other hand, the public space is already saturated with theses that can be used tomorrow at the level of big politics.
While there is no large-scale transition to violence, there are already signals
The study notes that a month after the start of the new phase of hostilities, the extreme language of hostility has not yet universally turned into practical steps. However, alarming episodes have already been recorded: at least one attack on a synagogue in Sukhumi is known, as well as the arrest of an Iranian cell that, according to the study, planned attacks on the Israeli embassy and the Jewish community in Azerbaijan.
This is precisely the case when the absence of mass violence should not be reassuring. When plots about the “Jewish conspiracy,” “rituals,” “Israeli aggression,” and “depriving Jews of the right to memory” are pumped into the public sphere for months, the risk of practical radicalization almost automatically increases.
Israel needs not only defense but also an offensive in the informational field
The main conclusion from this material is that in the post-Soviet space, anti-Semitism is once again becoming not a chaotic emotion, but a technology. It helps regimes mobilize the audience, switch public irritation, build alliances with anti-Western and pro-Iranian forces, and explain their own ideology to the world through the image of an enemy.
Therefore, the reaction of Israel, Jewish organizations, and friendly media cannot be limited to mere refutations. A more active strategy is needed: exposing networks of influence, publicly uncovering sources of propaganda, systematic monitoring of new euphemisms, and constant work with the Russian-speaking audience — both in Israel itself and beyond its borders.
It is in this context that the conversation about post-Soviet anti-Israeli rhetoric ceases to be an academic topic. It is already part of a large struggle for the security of Jewish communities, for the preservation of the memory of the Holocaust, and for Israel’s right not to be demonized in foreign ideological wars.