Jerusalem Post - 03.21.2005

Jerusalem Post

Ukraine's chief rabbi: No need to fear Yushchenko

By Sam Ser

Jews should not fear Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, despite his support for a newspaper that was censured last year for inciting anti-Semitism, the country's chief rabbi told The Jerusalem Post. 

While Yushchenko was presenting the staff of the daily Silski Visti with medals "for significant personal contribution to the development of Ukrainian journalism" recently, Rabbi Yaakov Bleich said, "it would have been prudent of him to mention also that they had printed anti-Semitic articles in the past, and said something to the effect that he was glad that they stopped it." 

The Jewish community, Bleich added, is much more concerned about other widely distributed magazines published by the unabashedly anti-Semitic MAUP organization. 

However, Yushchenko's support of Silski Visti only contributed to a larger concern about his relationship with the Jewish community because his right-wing power base includes nationalists and anti-Semites. 

"It has undermined our efforts in the fight against anti-Semitism," Eduard Dolinsky, executive director of the United Jewish Community of Ukraine, told the Post. 

Both Bleich and Dolinsky believe that Yushchenko himself is not a threat to the Jewish community, noting that he joins a Kiev synagogue each year to light Hanukka candles and saying that the president seems sincere in his attempts to foster good relations. 

"He very publicly walked over to me and embraced me as a friend" at recent political function, said Bleich. 

"He went to Auschwitz" last month for the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of its liberation, Dolinsky pointed out, "and said that there would never be a Jewish problem in Ukraine, because he would make every effort to fight anti-Semitism." 

Yet for both men, doubts remain. 

"[Yushchenko] is definitely not anti-Semitic," said Bleich, "but he is maybe too tolerant of people who are, and that definitely has to be addressed. He has to go to greater lengths to prove his democratic values." 

As a way of doing that, Bleich suggested, Yushchenko should make a public appearance at the upcoming celebration marking 15 years of Jewish renewal in Ukraine and use that opportunity to speak out against anti-Semitic forces within in the general Ukrainian community. 

"I think [Yushchenko] is very sincere," said Dolinsky, "but to this point we have seen no change. So we have asked him to receive a delegation of the Jewish community in order to discuss these problems." 

"And if he won't see us and still won't deal with this," Dolinsky added, "then we are going to demonstrate, organize mass rallies, etc. This event has shaken the feelings of the Jewish community."