Russia Accuses Jewish Group of Being ‘Foreign Agent’
Russia’s Justice Ministry placed a Jewish cultural association with ties to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee on its list of nongovernmental organizations defined as “foreign agents.”
The Hesed-Tshuva group, which is based in the city of Ryazan located 120 miles south of Moscow, was placed on the list on Sept. 11, according to a report Tuesday by the news website hro.org.
The list was set up in accordance with a law which Russia’s parliament adopted in 2012, that requires nongovernmental organizations to register as “foreign agents” with the Ministry of Justice if they engage in “political activity” and receive foreign funding.
According to Human Rights Watch, the definition of “political activity” under the law is “so broad and vague that it can extend to all aspects of advocacy and human rights work.”
Article 20, a Russian watchdog on human rights, reported the reason for the registration was not specified but that the Hesed-Tshuva group in question was registered as receiving donations only from the Joint Distribution Committee, or JDC.
The Hesed-Tshuva group is the first addition to the list of approximately 100 foreign agent NGOs that is described in its statute as a Jewish organization.
The JDC network of Hesed offices (Hebrew for kindness or virtue) supply various forms of aid, from food packages to medical care, to Jewish individuals in need across Russia and the former Soviet Union. JDC’s policy in Russia and in other countries around the world is to avoid taking part in partisan activities.
But on the Justice Ministry’s website, Hesed-Tshuva is described as having the goal of “influencing decision-making bodies of the state, aimed at changing state policy pursued as by them.”
Under “political activities” attributed to Hesed-Tshuva, the ministry listed: “conducting public events, shaping public opinion.”
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Fast Forward Deborah Lipstadt says Trump’s campus antisemitism crackdown has ‘gone way too far’
-
Fast Forward 5 Jewish senators accuse Trump of using antisemitism as ‘guise’ to attack universities
-
Fast Forward Jewish Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky reportedly to retire after 26 years in office
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.