- October 31, 2025
- 1:29 pm
- Ukraine
“Neither international Jewish organizations, nor the governments of Western countries, nor the USA, nor Israel condemned the strikes on synagogues.”
One of Israel’s main strategic centers — INSS (Institute for National Security Studies), whose assessments are cited in the government and army of the country, published on October 30, 2025 an analysis of a series of Russian strikes on synagogues in Ukraine.
Conscious part of Russian tactics
The author of the study, former Israeli diplomat Yaron Hamburg, shows that the attacks on synagogues in Kherson, Kyiv, and Odesa are not accidental. This is not a targeting error or collateral damage — it is a conscious part of Russian tactics, embedded in a broader trend.
Russia, while destroying Ukraine and publicly showing disdain for international norms, simultaneously plays on the wave of global growth of anti-Semitism. The Kremlin actively uses anti-Semitic narratives, and strikes on Jewish shrines become a practical continuation of this rhetoric.
The author emphasizes: this is happening at a time when anti-Semitism is rapidly increasing in the world, especially in Western Europe. And that is why the silence of the international community is dangerous — it turns hatred and violence into the norm.
The main conclusion of the study is clear:
Russia is not just fighting against Ukraine. It consciously strikes at Jewish symbols — and thus becomes part of a global anti-Semitic trend.
Chronology of strikes
“On October 24, 2025, a Russian missile made a direct hit on the central synagogue of Kherson. Although the missile did not explode, it completely destroyed the building; the rabbi was miraculously saved, leaving it seconds before the impact.”
The same synagogue was already attacked on October 9, when “a Russian cluster munition damaged one of the walls”.
Then — October 22: a Russian drone struck a synagogue in the Podil district of Kyiv, causing serious damage.
And finally, August: the day after the Tisha B’Av fast, a “Shahed” drone destroyed a historic synagogue in Odesa.
“The frequency of attacks on synagogues raises doubts about their randomness, especially against the backdrop of Russia’s claims of ‘smart’ and ‘precise’ weapons.”
Despite Moscow’s claims of “military targets”, shelling of civilian areas, according to the author, deals a heavy blow to infrastructure.
The goal is “to turn Ukraine into a place unfit for life”.
And houses of worship become “quality targets, the destruction of which undermines the fabric of civilian life”.
Three and a half years after the invasion began, Hamburg writes, it is already difficult to be surprised by the cynicism of Russian military tactics.
“Regardless of whether the attacks on synagogues were accidental or deliberate, Russia has not apologized,” the author writes.
Anti-Semitic rhetoric of the Kremlin and the dangerous global context
The author emphasizes that the Russian leadership has no reason to show sympathy for the Jewish community of Ukraine.
The very fact of Volodymyr Zelensky’s Jewish origin irritates the Russian elite, which tries to convince the world that a “neo-Nazi regime” operates in Ukraine.
According to the researcher, the Kremlin systematically uses anti-Semitic motifs, distorts the memory of the Holocaust, and spreads anti-Western conspiracy theses.
The author recalls that Putin publicly accused “ethnic Jews” of allegedly persecuting the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine — which enhances the conspiratorial and hostile subtext. As an example, he cites the statement of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about the “Jewish roots” of Hitler and Zelensky.
The anger of the Russian leadership is directed not only against Zelensky but also against the Jewish community of Ukraine. The country’s chief rabbi and Chabad emissary Moshe Asman, who condemned the invasion and lost a soldier son, became the target of attacks: one of the representatives of the Russian Security Council called the Chabad movement in Ukraine a “sect that controls the country”.
Russia has not apologized for the strikes on synagogues.
The author considers the reaction of the international community no less alarming — more precisely, its absence.
Despite the fact that most of the destroyed synagogues belong to Chabad, the head of Russian Chabad Berl Lazar, close to the Kremlin, made no statements.
Also, there were no condemnations from international Jewish organizations, Western governments, the USA, and Israel.
The author notes that such silence undermines the moral foundation of the global fight against anti-Semitism.
He emphasizes that it is not only about the moral plane — the fight against anti-Semitism has strategic significance.
The researcher links what is happening with the general growth of anti-Semitism in the world, especially in Western Europe, and warns that repeated attacks on synagogues in Ukraine occur against this backdrop.
The conclusion remains principled:
it is important not to allow the normalization of such a phenomenon — neither in international politics nor in public perception.
INSS Conclusion
INSS sees these strikes not as a mistake or collateral damage, but as a deliberate tactic of symbolic terror.
Russia attacks not only people but also memory, culture, shrines. The silence of the international community normalizes this behavior and undermines the foundations of world ethics.
INSS and the author of the study
INSS — Institute for National Security Studies of Israel
INSS (Institute for National Security Studies) — one of the most influential analytical centers in Israel and the Middle East.
It is the main think tank on security and strategic policy issues in the country.
What is important to know:
established at Tel Aviv University, but operates as an independent strategic institute
its analyses and recommendations are used by the IDF General Staff, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel
INSS conclusions are regularly referred to by international structures of NATO, the EU, the UN, diplomatic missions
the annual INSS Conference (INSS Annual Conference) — one of Israel’s key strategic platforms, attended by:
prime ministers
chiefs of General Staff
heads of intelligence services
defense ministers
representatives of the USA and Europe
In terms of influence in Israel’s strategic discourse, INSS is often compared to the RAND Corporation in the USA.
In other words: if INSS says that the attacks on synagogues are systematic and fit into a global trend of anti-Semitism — this is not just an opinion. It is a state-level security warning.
About the author: Yaron Hamburg
The author of the publication is Yaron Hamburg, an expert on Russia and the post-Soviet space at the Institute for National Security Studies of Israel (INSS).
This is not a journalist or a political commentator —
this is a career diplomat and strategic analyst, who has worked for the state of Israel for many years.
Brief biography and positions
Researcher of the “Russia” program at INSS
Doctoral candidate at Paris 8 University, where he researches:
modern Russian rhetoric,
historical memory,
anti-Semitism and Holocaust discourse.
Officer of the Israeli diplomatic service (since 1999)
Served in key positions:✅ press attaché of the Israeli embassy in Russia (2000–2003)
✅ deputy consul general of Israel in California (2005–2008)
✅ diplomat of the Israeli mission in the USA (2015–2018)
✅ press attaché of the Israeli embassy in France (2010–2014)
✅ deputy head of the Israeli mission to international organizations in Paris (2019–2022)Led the training course for Israeli diplomatic service personnel and participated in the development of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ public diplomacy strategy.
Professional interests
foreign policy of Russia and the post-Soviet region
anti-Semitism and political narratives
state propaganda
strategic communication
the role of digital technologies in international diplomacy
Why his opinion matters
Hamburg is a representative of a generation of Israeli diplomats who have seen the Russian system from the inside and worked with its elites.
Simply put:
this is a person who professionally studies Russia and its information strategies, knows the Russian system from within diplomacy, and understands anti-Semitism as a political and strategic tool.
Why this is important
These conclusions are —
not an internal Ukrainian thesis,
not an academic theory,
and not an emotional comment on the network.
It is:
✅ the position of an authoritative Israeli strategic institute
✅ confirmed by the experience of a diplomat and researcher
✅ embedded in the global picture of the growth of anti-Semitism
✅ addressed to world elites and politicians
When such structures say that:
Russia consciously strikes at synagogues
uses anti-Semitism as a political weapon
and the world is silent, and this is dangerous
— this is a signal of the level of state warning, not journalism.
Conclusion from NANews
These strikes on synagogues are not a targeting error. This is part of a war against symbols, memory, and identity.
The silence of the world turns horror into the norm, and indifference into complicity.
INSS reminds: the fight against anti-Semitism is not only a matter of history and morality. It is a matter of security and the future of the civilized world.
