Many Jews returning to Russia

An increasing number of Jews are going back to Russia, including many who had earlier left the country to go to Israel, the "Los Angeles Times" reports. About one million Jews have emigrated to Israel in the face of repression and discrimination in the old Soviet Union. But now, there are as many as 57,000 who have returned. "It is a growing phenomenon. And the signs are that more and more people are going to come back", said Berel Lazar, one of Russia's two chief rabbis. "I feel more confident being Jewish here than I did before, said one unidentified woman. In Israel, I was always a Russian. Here, I can be a Jew." But the Jewish revival is also eliciting an anti-Semitic backlash from nationalist Russians. However, few Jewish leaders see the recent incidents of anti-Semitism as evidence of a permanent backlash. Most believe the Jewish revival has gained such momentum that it is irreversible, and they credit the Russian government for wanting to repair the wrongs of the past.