Ha'aretz - 03.17.2005

Ha'aretz

Yushchenko honors Ukraine paper accused of anti-Semitism

By The Associated Press

KIEV - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's decision to honor a newspaper that was censured by a court last year for inciting anti-Semitism is sparking concern among Ukraine's Jewish community.

Yushchenko awarded staff of the daily Silski Visti last week with medals "for significant personal contribution to the development of Ukrainian journalism."

A court ordered the paper to be temporarily closed in January 2004 for inciting anti-Semitism, but the paper appealed and continued to publish.

The charges stemmed from the paper's decision to publish an excerpt from the book "Jews in Ukraine Today: Reality without Myths," in which author Vasyl Yaremenko claims that the Ukrainian people are being ruled by Jews.

"As Ukraine is part of Europe, we must respect European principles and strictly observe human rights and that means not allowing any xenophobia and anti-Semitism," said Yakov Blaih, the chief rabbi of Ukraine and Kiev.

The award to Silski Visti was widely seen as gratitude for the paper's role as Ukraine's main opposition newspaper during former President Leonid Kuchma's 10-year rule. The paper, with a daily circulation of more than 500,000, has links with the Socialist Party, whose members were among Kuchma's most ferocious political opponents.

Yosef Zissels, head of the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities in Ukraine, said he was disappointed by Yushchenko's decision to honor the newspaper, noting that it "published many anti-Semitic stories and even has not apologized for it."

The Silski Visti editorial board has rejected the accusations against it, and suggested that last year's court decision was politically motivated.

"Our award is fully merited and if somebody is not happy about it, it is their problem," said Borys Polishchuk, the newspaper's deputy editor-in-chief.

Yushchenko's spokeswoman, Irina Gerashchenko, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Ukraine is home to about 100,000 Jews. Hundreds of thousands of Jews perished over the centuries in pogroms staged by Ukrainian nationalists, millions died during the Holocaust, and anti-Semitic feelings still linger in western Ukraine, Yushchenko's power base.