RJC Monitor - 04.25.2003

 

The Russian Jewish Congress

NEW ISRAELI AMBASSADOR HANDLED LETTERS OF CREDENCE TO THE RUSSIAN PRESIDENT 

On the 16th of April the solemn presentation of letters of credence by several foreign ambassadors including Israeli ambassador Arkady Mil-Man took place in Kremlin. Speaking out on the presentation Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that for recent years Russian-Israeli relationships “have been considerably improved” and appealed “to increase multidisciplinary contacts and use their considerable potential in the whole scale”. The President also pointed out the importance of the deepening of the confidential relationships between Russia and Israel.

“SOVEREIGNERS” HELD THE MEETING IN FRONT Of THE ISRAELI EMBASSY 

On the 19th of April the National-Sovereign Party held the meeting in front of the Israeli embassy building. Approximately 150 people attended. Anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli posters were demonstrated. In spite of militiamen’s warnings the Israeli flag was burnt.

Co-president of the NSP, the former minister in charge of mass media B. Mironov appealed for the party members to hold regular meetings near the Israeli embassy. Right here, according to his words, “Kremlin puppeteers” and “destroyers of Russia” reside. He also stated there was no Holocaust, “this is a Jewish artifice and cover-up to capitalize the suffering of Russian people”. NSP leader regretted Russian people hadn’t been ready yet to take gun and drop “Jewish yoke”, but the first battle against Jews patriots should give on the elections and not allow Zionists to enter the State Duma.

Moscow officials permitted meeting. 

RJC APPEALS THE SOCIETY TO REBUFF ALL SIGNS OF EXTREMISM 

A blaster was disposed of the synagogue in the Bolshaya Bronnaya street in Moscow on the 20th of April. On the 21st of April Russian Jewish Congress, therefore, made a statement for media. The statement particularly says: “An act of terrorism was accomplished on the eve of the Victory Day on the Hitler’s birthday in the country which experienced the Second World War and sacrificed millions of lives in behalf of the victory over fascism”.
The embedding of the blaster near Moscow synagogue in the Bolshaya Bronnaya street caused a danger for dwellers of the neighboring multi-storey apartment building. For the sake of citizens’ concern a tragedy didn’t occur and the blaster was disposed.

Russian Jewish Congress appeals Russian society to rebuff all signs of extremism and terrorism and hopes that Russian Civil Society will not allow ideology and practice of antihumanism to flourish. 

ANTI-SEMITIC INSCRIPTIONS ON THE COMMUNITY BUILDING 

On the 21st of April unknown persons painted fylfot and wrote: “Fuck Jews!”, “Jews are sluts” etc on the building of the Jewish community in Yoshkar-Ola. Wrought damage estimates 150 thousand rubles.

This is not the first incident in the republic. Jewish community has been appealing to municipal and republican law-enforcement institutes repeatedly but hasn’t been answered. “There is nothing surprising in this entire if the only one state newspaper in Mariy-El republic, founded by Government and State Assembly, cultivates nationalism and xenophobia in its publications” – the Jewish community representative claimed. 

DISCUSSION ABOUT PERSPECTIVES OF THE ETHNIC INTERNET-MEDIA DEVELOPMENT

On the 22 of April the Moscow House of nationalities conducted a panel discussion with a topic: “Possibilities and features of Internet-media: recommends for Moscow ethnic editions”. Press secretary of RJC Roman Yegorov and main editor of the newspaper “Jewish news” Nicolay Propirny participated in the session.

The session allowed to give consideration of existing models of the network media realized by ethnic minorities in the Russian segment of Internet and to determine “growth points” with a specific interest for national communities.

It was marked that Internet-media targeting to form and satisfy demands of exterritorial Internet-communities had been more successive comparatively with local Internet-communities. The audience was interested in presentation of diversified media-projects inspired by Russian Jewish Congress (www.ijc.ru, www.yafa.ru, www.veronet.org, www.rjc.ru) and the work of the newspaper “Jewish news”.

Moscow house of nationalities will receive similar meetings further; topics and forms will be enlarged. 

JEWISH COMMUNITY SEIZE THE COURT 

President of the Krasnoyarsk regional Jewish national and cultural autonomy Naum Rashkovsky appealed to the prosecutor’s office in the Zheleznodorozhny distirict of Krasnoyarsk with the demand to initiate criminal proceeding and assume measures to the “Krasnoyarskaya gazeta” edition according to the Federal Law “About reluctance to the extremist activity”

For many years “Krasnoyarsky gazeta” have been spreading the information, which provokes social, national and religious discord, inspire different forms of extremism. Citizens and social organizations including KKENKA “Gaskala” repeatedly appealed to the law-enforcement institutes on the subject of indignant articles of “Krasnoyarskaya gazeta”. Local administration of the Ministry in charge of press, broadcasting and mass-media passed warnings to the edition. But the newspaper goes on publishing materials of the quite certain character.