Union of Councils for Soviet Jews: Israeli Diplomat Beaten and Robbed in St. Petersburg

An Israeli diplomat was beaten and robbed in St. Petersburg Tuesday, a Russian news agency reported. Micky Boguslavsky, a secretary in the Israeli Embassy in Moscow, was returning home Monday night when several unidentified assailants assaulted him in downtown St. Petersburg, the Interfax news agency said. He was beaten and robbed of his valuables, including cash, credit cards and a digital camera, Interfax quoted the Israeli Embassy as saying. The diplomat temporarily lost consciousness. He reported the attack to the local police on Tuesday, Interfax said, citing the embassy. Calls to the Israeli Embassy in Moscow and police officials in St. Petersburg went unanswered on Tuesday evening. Yevgeniya Lvova, the head of the Russian Jewish Congress' St. Petersburg branch, confirmed that Boguslavsky, who heads the Israeli Cultural Center in St. Petersburg, had been robbed by unidentified assailants.