Thousands of prominent Russians have already signed anti-Semitic petition

Some 50,000 public figures and church officials in Russia have signed a petition asking the country's state prosecution to ban Jewish groups. The petition uses quotations from an abridged guide to Jewish law to support its contention that Judaism is "an extremist and racist ethnicity that hates non-Jews," the radio station "Army Radio" reported. The signatories, which are said to include former army generals, artists and ex chess champion Boris Spassky, argue that this definition of Judaism makes the activity of Jewish groups illegal. A similar petition was signed by 20 Russian lawmakers about two months ago. Arguing that Jews were to blame for anti-Semitism, the authors of the letter demanded that Jewish groups be outlawed, based on legislation against extremism and fomenting ethnic discord. However, a vote in the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, condemned the petition by a wide margin.