Russia Sides with Hamas

For over a decade, the Kremlin has backed an Iran-Syria alliance in the Middle East that puts it on the opposite side of Israel. Yet, for a variety of reasons, both Jerusalem and Moscow have kept up at least the illusion of good relations, coupled with Vladimir Putin’s efforts to show himself to be a friend of the Russian Jewish community. That arrangement has been gradually breaking down over the past many months, with leaders of Hamas visiting Moscow, Russian officials speaking openly of a “strategic partnership” with Iran, attacks on Volodymyr Zelensky in state-controlled media taking on an anti-Semitic tone, and Russian Jews feeling less secure than they have in a long time.