RJC Monitor - 01.24.2003

 

The Russian Jewish Congress




Information Bulletin # 2

NEWSPAPER SUED FOR PUBLICATION OF HATE SPEECH

Reporter Yuri Sandberg has filed a defamation lawsuit against The Saratovskiye Vesti, a government-controlled newspaper based in the southeastern Russian city of Saratov. The plaintiff cites offensive language and anti-Jewish slurs from a Jan. 18 article censuring him for his recent political statements.

Referring to the anti-reform Jewish journalist and his likes, the article warns of the "mortal threat" posed by the "sandbergs" to Russia's future and hints at their collective guilt for this country's past woes. 

Well, the man's views may be decidedly unliberal and undemocratic, but this does not seem to be a valid enough reason for his opponents to engage in mud-slinging and anti-Jewish rhetoric. Not surprisingly, the article, which came out amidst a flurry of anti-Semitic incidents in the Saratov region and elsewhere across the nation, triggered a strong community response. The day following the publication, Rabbi Michoel Frumin, Board Chairman of the Saratov Regional Jewish Religious Society, forwarded a letter of protest to Sergei Kiriyenko, presidential envoy to the Volga Federal District. The Rabbi requested that his signature be withdrawn from the Inter-Ethnic Harmony & Civic Partnership Accord, concluded with the regional government several days before. 

The article at hand might come across as being inconsistent with The Saratovskiye Vesti's seemingly Jew-friendly editorial policy—at least judging by the rather flattering features, in this same issue, about immigrant artist Gavriil Glikman, physician-cum-bard Alexander Rosenbaum, and comedian Gennady Khazanov. 

But make no mistake about it, the periodical did not take this "balanced approach" until after a federal government agency had sent it a letter of admonition for publishing hate speech two years ago. 

The Russian Jewish Congress finds the tendency highly disturbing. It has called upon Saratov media, government-run or otherwise, to exercise their right to free speech more responsibly in future. 


"KRISTALLNACHT" IN ULYANOVSK: NEO-NAZIS SMASH WINDOWS IN SHALOM CENTER

The Shalom community center in Ulyanovsk, in the Volga region, was attacked by a group of teenage skinheads January 19. The pogrom took place at about 7 p.m., the hour that is usually a busy one for the center, with community members, both children and adults, turning up for various club activities. 

It all began with a window-smashing spree, reminiscent of Germany's Kristallnacht vandalism. Several men rushed out of the building to stop the ravage. But the skins, armed with chains and pepper gas sprays, continued their onslaught. Luckily, the police arrived at the scene before the violent youths were able to injure anyone seriously.

According to one of the detained attackers, a local Neo-Nazi organization was behind the raid. A probe has been launched to check up on that.

This latest anti-Jewish incident in Ulyanovsk is not without precedent. A couple of months ago, local neo-Nazis defaced the fence around the Shalom building with anti-Jewish graffiti and beat up a young community activist. 

The attack may have been inspired by a recent newspaper story about Talmudic Jews' ritual killing of Christian infants, investigators say. The story was written by Sergei Seryubin, an editor of the regional pro-Christian newspaper Pravoslavny Simbirsk (Simbirsk is what Ulyanovsk was called before being renamed after its (in)famous native, Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin)). Seryubin called on the Jews to pack up and get out of Russia, stigmatizing them as "aliens." 

Shalom responded by laying a formal complaint with the Prosecutor's Office ,and criminal proceedings were instituted against the editor, for a misdemeanor punishable under Section 282 of the Russian Penal Code (instigation of ethnic, racial or religious hate). Seryabin was removed from his editorial position as soon as litigation began.

Curiously enough, the Pravoslavny Simbirsk has been co-founded by the Ulyanovsk diocesan administration and the regional government agency for media affairs. 

Court hearings of the Seryubin case received a strong public response. Rallies were staged outside the court headquarters to support the controversial journalist. It may well be that some of the young people sharing the Pravoslavny Simbirsk editor's views decided to go farther than rallying rhetoric. 


RABBIS IN CONFLICT OVER CONTROL OF MOSCOW CEMETERY

A conciliation commission has been set up to resolve the dispute between the two major religious umbrella organizations of the Russian Jewry, over the right to manage and control Moscow's Jewish Cemetery. 

The dispute erupted following City Hall's Dec. 31, 2002 resolution to place the Lubavitch-led Federation of Jewish Communities (FJC) in charge of the cemetery grounds, until then cared for by its arch rival, the Congress of Jewish Religious Communities and Organizations (known by its Russian acronym, KEROOR). But the matter goes beyond purely ideological rivalry. There is big money at stake, with the KEROOR having invested more than $1.5 million in improvements to the cemetery over the past two years. 

A tentative compromise agreement, providing for shared management of the site, has now been brokered by Moscow Jewish Community Vice President Pavel Feldblum. Municipal authorities seem to have no objections to this new arrangement.

Commenting on the controversy in an interview with the RJC Newsletter, a Moscow Jewish community leader said the situation was consistent with Russia's privatization traditions, but expressed surprise at why Lubavitcher Rabbi Berl Lazar (the FJC chief) was so anxious to take the cemetery over from his arch rival, Rabbi Adolph Schaewitz (the KERROR chief). Isn't it bad luck being in too much hurry to obtain burial space for oneself, our interviewee wondered. 


WORLD CONGRESS OF GEORGIAN JEWRY

A World Congress of Georgian Jewry has been set up to represent globally the interests of Jews originally from the Transcaucasian nation of Georgia. The founding conference took place in Jerusalem January 22. 

Top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert, and Chief Sephardi Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron, came over to extend greetings to the conferees. RJC Vice President Sergei Gitman greeted the gathering on behalf of the Russian Jewry. Mikho Mirilashvili (the father of the high-profile businessmen Konstantin and Mikhail Mirilashvili) was elected president of the new body. Yakov Offir's candidacy was picked for the position of director general.

The conference was rounded off with a gala featuring Georgian showbiz stars. 


FOSTERING CROSS-CULTURAL FRIENDSHIPS IN CHUVASH REPUBLIC

A House of Friendship has been set up in Cheboksary, capital of the Chuvash Republic, in southeastern Russia, to encourage interaction between members of this multi-ethnic community. The House brings together centers of Jewish, Armenian, Russian, German, and Mari cultures. Cheboksary's eighteen cultural centers presently in operation are very helpful in bringing cross-cultural awareness and understanding.

The House of Friendship opened its doors on January 17. The opening ceremony culminated in a colorful gala, featuring performers of the various cultural traditions.