NCSJ Press Release - 03.31.2003

 

 

 

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NCSJ Condemns Anti-Semitic Textbook

NCSJ today condemned a March 24 Moscow court ruling that there is nothing illegal in a government-endorsed textbook describing Jews as power-hungry and greedy. 

The Moscow-based Movement for Human Rights had requested that criminal charges be brought against the editor and distributors of "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture," which has been endorsed by the Education Ministry and the Russian Orthodox Church for use in public schools. The book argues that the Jews forced Pontius Pilate to crucify Jesus because "they thought only about power over other peoples and earthly wealth."

The Movement for Human Rights appealed in June 2002 to the Prosecutor General's Office to open a criminal case on the grounds that the book incites ethnic hatred, a crime under Russian law. The case was referred to local Moscow prosecutors, who refused to open a case. In December, the Meschansky District Court ruled that the refusal was illegal, but the prosecutors again refused the case. On Monday the court upheld the second refusal.

NCSJ condemned the anti-Semitic language used to describe Judaism and urged the Russian government to play a responsible role in correcting this destructive and hateful depiction of Judaism. NCSJ also urged the government to reconsider how religion is taught in public schools.

NCSJ: Advocates on behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia – a voluntary, not-for-profit agency created in 1971, is the mandated central coordinating agency of the organized American Jewish community for policy and activities on behalf of the estimated 1.5 million Jews in the former Soviet Union. NCSJ comprises nearly 50 national organizations and over 300 local federations, community councils and committees across the United States. Through this extensive network, NCSJ mobilizes the resources, energies and talents of millions of U.S. citizens, and also represents the American Jewish community in dealings with similar national groups abroad, and at international fora.

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