A furor has erupted here over reports that one of Russia’s top security officials has Israeli citizenship.
Two Moscow newspapers reported last week that Jewish business tycoon Boris Berezovsky received Israeli citizenship during a visit to the Jewish state three years ago.
Berezovsky, who in the early 1990s made a fortune in the automobile business, was appointed deputy secretary of Russia’s National Security Council three weeks ago.
His appointment came after Russian President Boris Yeltsin fired former National Security Chief Alexander Lebed and replaced him with Ivan Rybkin, former speaker of the Duma, the lower house of Parliament.
Berezovsky, 50, is also chairman of Russian public television, a post that makes him one of the most influential media figures here.
Unlike other wealthy Russian Jewish entrepreneurs, he has never been involved in organized Jewish life.
In the wake of the reports, Berezovsky denied that he had dual citizenship and said he would sue the newspapers for libel.
The decision to appoint Berezovsky to the security council prompted outrage from some members of the Russian Parliament, including Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznyov and liberal economist Grigory Yavlinsky.
Many of his critics charged that Berezovsky had no previous experience as a politician and had been picked for the key post because of his influence in the corridors of power.
Russia’s four leading television channels took Berezovsky’s side. One popular television host called the two newspaper articles anti-Semitic.
Leading members of the Jewish community defended Berezovsky.
“Russian laws do not ban dual citizenship,” said Mikhail Chlenov, president of the Va’ad, the Jewish confederation of Russia. “The fact of dual citizenship cannot serve as a ground for career limitations.”
“I don’t know if Berezovsky did receive Israeli citizenship,” said Chlenov. But “this is a very typical situation” for Russian Jewish business people, he added.
One Jewish businessman from Moscow who preferred to remain anonymous agreed with Chlenov.
“Most of my colleagues have obtained second passports, some of them for the sake of their business, others to take advantage of their dual citizenship in case of emergency.”
He said it was “quite natural” for Jewish businessmen “to seek Israeli citizenship” to facilitate emigration in case the political situation deteriorated here.
One Jewish leader disagreed. “A political career, especially one in the National Security Council, implies that a person has only one passport.”
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