Shahar (Zionist movement)

The Shahar movement was created at the initiative of a group of Russian Jewish activists in May 2011.

The Shahar movement stands on the ideological positions of secular Zionism, forming an active Jewish identity through the revival of Jewish national identity. "Shahar" positions itself as a right-wing liberal movement.

The main activities of the Shahar movement are educational events aimed at forming a Zionist Jewish worldview, as well as self-defense courses, debates involving famous people on burning topics, and rallies in support of the right of the State of Israel to exist and defense.

The Shahar movement is known for its pro-Israel stance and the organization of a series of rallies in the Russian Federation in support of the state of Israel , as well as against terrorism and extremism. So, Shahar activists held pro-Israeli rallies in 2012 and 2014 in St. Petersburg and Moscow, bringing together a total of several thousand people ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} .

Also, the Shahar movement has repeatedly held debates on sensitive socio-political topics. On May 6, 2011, the head of the Shahar movement held a debate at MGIMO with representatives of the Palestinian student community of Moscow on the causes of the Arab-Israeli conflict and methods for resolving it ^[5] . This debate repeated in 2013.

In 2017 and 2018, the Shahar movement organized a series of debates on the topics of migration, feminism and relations between Russia and Israel with the participation of Mark Feigin , Alexander Khaminsky , Alexei Abanin and Avigdor Eskin ^{[6] [7] [8] [9]} , Nikolai Svanidze and Valery Nightingale.

In January 2016, the Shahar movement appealed to the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation with a demand to recognize the Hamas organization as terrorist ^{[10] [11]} and prohibit its activities in Russia.

In August 2018, after a compromising message received by law enforcement agencies, a search was carried out in the office of the Shakhar organization as part of a test for extremism. As a result, anti-Semitic literature was found, which, according to the leadership of the movement, was planted. According to the results of the audit, all claims regarding the literature tossed up were withdrawn, extremism in the activities of the Shahar movement was not identified, and a decision was issued to refuse to institute criminal proceedings.

In December 2018, the Shahar movement, together with the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, organized the visit of the Israeli parliamentary delegation to Moscow. Knesset deputy David Bitan, Knesset general director Albert Sakharovich, Likud party general director Tsuri Siso and member of the board of directors of the World Jewish Congress Kobe Zofer took part in the trip. During the visit, negotiations were held between members of the Israeli delegation with deputies of the State Duma of Russia and members of the Federation Council.

1. The leader of the Shahar movement, Alexander Kargin, is the head of the Russian representative office of the ruling Likud party in Israel and the director of the Russian branch of the Beitar international movement ^[12] .
2. In 2012, the Shahar movement issued a satirical Jewish calendar that provoked a stormy and controversial reaction in the Jewish religious environment ^[13] .
3. The conspiracy theory was expressed in the anti-Semitic press that the Shahar movement, on the instructions of the Israeli secret services, allegedly controls Russian right-wing liberal and nationalist organizations ^[14] .
4. The Shahar movement criticized some Jewish organizations for promoting ultra-leftist views and an anti-Israeli stance.