Ukraine war: Thousands of Jews quit Russia amid fears of persecution

The way things are going, they have every reason to be concerned about the future

LTC Eugene Chu
..."Alexander says he only knows two other Jewish families and that the community has not been a big part of his life.

But he fears that however integrated he is, this will not matter if the mood against Jews changes.

He has applied for Israeli citizenship and is due to be interviewed in the coming weeks.

One of the things that has alarmed Alexander is the Kremlin's stated intention to shut down the Russian arm of the Jewish Agency.

"All of a sudden we see that on the news, and we wonder what is next? We feel very unsafe and we think could we lose our jobs, or go to jail. Things have become very scary."

You know, this is troubling because it represents a brain drain for the Russians. In all likelihood the Jews who are leaving are well educated and most affluent of the population. Why would they stick around to be persecuted and abused, particularly if it looks like history is going to repeat itself.