Jewish Leaders Praise Russian Police

MOSCOW, Russia [JTA] — A Russian Jewish umbrella organization lauded Russian law enforcement for its efforts to catch perpetrators of hate crimes.

The praise Thursday from the Chabad-run Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia came in response to this week’s arrest of a suspect in a 3-year-old arson case.

The federation, which has close ties to the Russian government, in a statement pointed to an increase in the number of people charged with hate crimes. Specifically, it pointed to two other arrests made this year in cases of synagogue vandalism — one in January in the central Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, another in July in the southern city of Orenburg.

“These positive developments show that the state is demonstrating real determination to combat xenophobia and anti-Semitism,” the statement said. “The situation has been improved in comparison with the state of affairs a few years ago.”