Kremlin Interference - 02.22.2001

 

TO:           NCSJ Leadership, Federations, CRCs, National Agencies

FROM:       Harold Paul Luks, Chairman
                Robert J. Meth, President
                Mark B. Levin, Executive Director

SUBJECT:   Kremlin Interference with Jewish Leadership

We want to bring to your attention several alarming developments in Russia to which NCSJ has responded forcefully but not publicly, due to concern for the welfare of individual community leaders and with the expectation that, in this case, quiet diplomacy offers the best first response.  These issues, detailed below, will be the subject of a special session at the Plenum of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs in Washington, DC, on Monday, February 26^th; Michael McFaul of the Carnegie Endowment will deliver a presentation on events in Russia.

During the past three weeks, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government has intensified efforts to designate the leadership of the Russian Jewish community.  At the same time, there has been harassment of Jewish groups and individuals not considered “loyal” to the Kremlin.  The most recent examples of government intervention in Jewish communal affairs include: searches of community offices; the withholding of visas for community leaders; interference in the issuance of invitations to foreign visitors; and pressure from Kremlin officials to remove individuals from positions of leadership.  This pattern was initially described in NCSJ’s January 12^th update, Jews Facing Old and New Challenges.  NCSJ, in coordination with Jewish community organizations (including the Conference of Presidents, Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, World Jewish Congress, and Greater New York Coalition for Soviet Jewry), the U.S. Congress and the Bush administration, has expressed its concern about these developments directly to the Russian government.

On January 31^st, a Kremlin official met with the incoming president of the United Russian Synagogue (KEROOR), urging him to withdraw from this position and create a single and unified congregational organization which would be more sensitive to governmental directives. On February 2^nd, Moscow Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, after serving the community for 12 years, was told that his visa would be delayed. Rabbi Goldschmidt, who is associated with KEROOR and the Russian Jewish Congress, is not a citizen of Russia.  The same day, tax police and officials from OVIR (the Russian visa bureau) also “visited” KEROOR’s offices in the Moscow Choral Synagogue to examine records.

On February 5^th, Rabbi Goldschmidt’s visa was renewed, but only for two weeks.  The executive director of the Moscow Jewish Community (affiliated with KEROOR) met with OVIR representatives.  The officials questioned the accuracy of letters inviting foreigners to attend a February 13^th community conference.  On February 6^th, 7^th and 8^th, Rabbi Goldschmidt was visited by a number of Western diplomats, as well as a delegation from American Jewish Committee (AJC).  The AJC delegation also raised the issue of governmental interference in community affairs during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.  On February 12^th, Rabbi Goldschmidt was informed that his visa would be valid until July 2001.  There have been no further visits by Russian authorities to the Choral Synagogue.

The renewal of Rabbi Goldschmidt’s visa is a positive development.  It reflects the impact of international efforts to overcome a pattern of deliberate harassment.  Given the number of incidents in the past three weeks, it would be helpful to receive assurances from the Russian Government regarding the future status of Moscow’s Chief Rabbi, the authority of religious communities to issue invitations to foreign visitors, and the community’s ability to choose its own leaders.

President Putin’s public participation in Jewish community events, and his official statements of support for the reemergence of Jewish life, suggest a positive future for Russian Jewry.  However, the Kremlin’s intimidation of the Jewish community threatens to undo much of the progress achieved during the past decade.  Such measures contradict the spirit of the Russian Constitution, as well as Russian obligations to international agreements such as the Helsinki Final Act.

NCSJ will keep you informed about new developments as they occur.  We hope to see you at the NCSJ program at the JCPA Plenum on February 26^th.