RJC Monitor - 06.27.2003

 

The Russian Jewish Congress

HEARINGS IN STATE DUMA 

Parliamentary hearings with a topic “Lawmaking problems in the field of religious organizations and religious liberty” were held on the 18th of June according to State Duma Council’s decision. Chairman of State Duma Committee responsible for relations with religious organizations Victor Zorkaltsev, Metropolitan Sergiy, Mufti Sheik Ravil Guynutdin and Rabbi Zinovi Kogan presented reports.

Chairman of Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations in Russia, Russian Jewish Congress Presidium’s member Rabbi Zinovi Kogan stated in his speech: Multinational Russia looks like mother with many children, more children means solid family. Two most important issues are vital now. Is our people’s collective will strong enough to preserve united family or are they ready to consider State Law higher then Religious Right? Will our children scatter about national and religious schools to be in different civilizations in decade? Will God allow one mother’s children to be alien? That is why the united textbook “Russian traditional religions” is necessary.

Will religious leaders and politics be wise enough to make an adequate reaction to challenges they face and preserve Civil Society open? At the same time open Russia does not mean through passage. Today foreign missionaries are cheating semi-beggar Russians, teach them another way of life… There are tens of thousand religious groups in Russia and only little more then a hundred have been registered. I reckon all religious groups without exception have to be registered and foreign priests have to fill work visa.

The target is not to separate church from the state but strengthen coordination between churches on behalf of Russia”. 


RUSSIAN RELIGIOUS COUNCIL TO HOLD SESSION 

Russian religious Council held session on the 19th of June. Leaders of traditional Russian communities and confessions participated in it. Russian Jewish Congress Presidium’s members, rabbis Zinovi Kogan (CJROAR) and Berl Lazar (FRJC) presented Hebrew community in the session.

Religious Council’s members made an appeal for Russian president Vladimir Putin with a letter dedicated to problems of religious education. Letter particularly states: “Russian Religious Council Presidium’s members express a support to efforts of Russian State to create conditions for state and municipal schools’ students to recognize traditional religions of our country.

Students to be connected with moral values and traditional religious culture mean realization of legislative right to get an education according to values of national culture and family. It stimulates citizenship and patriotism, develop culture of communication between religions and nationalities, form morality for children and juveniles.

We believe state and municipal schools should have the opportunity to show history and traditional views for Russian religions and their moral standards. The base of teaching should not be relativism, but common for traditional religions values such as family, labor, patriotism.

Now Russian Ministry of Education is developing course of studies called “Russian religions” for state and municipal schools. We are deeply convinced, Russian religious community’s representatives (united in Russian Religious Council) have to participate in creation of such textbook and their opinion should be considered in every possible way. At the same time creation of the united course should not exclude possibility to teach cultural bases of separate traditional religions in state and municipal schools.

For the benefit of complete moral and intellectual evolution of our children, for peace and consent in society we ask you, deeply respected Vladimir Vladimirovich, to make contribution for religious organizations, members of Russian Religious Council for they can take part in creation of the textbook dedicated to Russian religions”.

Letter was signed by: Head of Department for External Church Relations in Moscow Patriarchate Metropolitan Smolenski and Kaliningradski Kirill, Head of Buddhist Traditional Russian Sangha Pandito Hambo Lama Damba Ayushev, Chairman of Russian Council of Muftis Mufti Sheik Ravil Guynutdin, Chairman of Central Spiritual Russian Muslim’s Authority Supreme Mufti Sheik-ul-Islam Talgat Tadjuddin, Mayor Russian Rabbi (Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations in Russia) Adolf Shaevich, Mayor Russian Rabbi (Federation of Russian Jewish Communities) Berl Lazar, Chairman of Centre of Coordination for Muslims in Northern Caucasus Mufti Sheik Ismail Berdiev. 


FEDERATION FOR JEWISH NATIONAL AND CULTURAL AUTONOMY TO HOLD CONFERENCE 

Federation for Jewish national and cultural autonomy (FJNCA) held a delegate conference in Moscow hotel “Izmaylovo” on the 22nd of June. Delegates from 12 Russian regions discussed Jewish community activities in education and culture, considered ways to establish dialog between different ethnic groups and to strengthen fight against political extremism including anti-Semitism.

Minister responsible for national policy Vladimir Zorin, President Administration’s Representative Anton Ignatenko and other officials dealing with national and cultural autonomies, representatives of several large Russian and foreign Jewish structures including delegation of National Conference on Soviet Jewry (NCSJ) were guests at conference. Russian Jewish Congress executive vice-president Yuri Raskin greeted participants of the conference.

Conference decided to change FJNCA Charter. From now president elected for five years instead of three co-chairmen heads Federation for National and Cultural Autonomy. General secretary of Eurasian Jewish Congress, Russian Vaad’s president Mikhail Chlenov (former FJNCA co-chairman) was elected to be a president by common consent. A Council was formed under the president. Its members are Centre of Hebrew teaching’s director Evgueni Marianchik, Vaad’s vice-president Roman Spektor, Open Society institute’s director Aleksander Osovtsov, Shalom theatre’s director Aleksander Levenbuk, heads of Jewish national and cultural autonomies in St. Petersburg Eugenia Lvova, in Komi republic Leonid Zilberg, in Urals Mikhail Oshtrakh, in Krasnoyarsk Naum Rashkovski.

Jewish national and cultural autonomies of Mari El republic and Kirov region entered FJNCA.

Resolutions about Conception of state national policy in RF and amendments to the law about national and cultural autonomies were accepted. The first resolution offers to upgrade Conception with NCA ideas while realization of policy is supposed to be approved for undefined term with government statement or edict. The second resolution generally antagonizes tries to implement amendments to the Law making it worse. For instance, there is a statement demanding to “show number of citizens needing to preserve identity, develop language education and national culture” and number of people united by NCA. Such statements open different ways for manipulations based on so-called national and proportional approach. Conference appealed to president and Council of Federation not to approve such law and to return it to the State Duma for adaptation.

Russian Jewish Congress president Evgueni Satanovski presented a speech for conference participants. His speech was about strategy of Russian Jewish community development for 2002-2007, accepted last autumn in Conference of Heads of Russian Jewish organizations. It covers questions of foreign and domestic policy, financial self-providing of regional communities and coordination with Russian and Moscow officials during pre-electoral year. RJC president focused on efforts of some Russian politics to ruin relations between Jewish community and the state having been formed from early 90s and to return into 80s using voices of xenophobia in Russian electorate.

Virtually all speakers noted NCA as secular uniting form to be the only one recognized by Law and therefore capable to establish real dialog with authorities. FJNCA includes regional and local autonomies oriented as to RJC and CJROAR as to FRJC. 


NCSJ’S DELEGATION IN MOSCOW 

National Conference on Soviet Jewry (or as it is called today Advocates on behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, Baltic States and Eurasia”) sent delegation to work in Moscow on the 22nd of June.

NCSJ is one of the famous Jewish organizations defended Soviet Jews rights during decades of confrontation between the US and the USSR. Now it is monitoring anti-Semitism in the former USSR territory, defending rights of national minorities (primarily Jews) against xenophobia and conducting dynamic dialog with political establishment in CIS and Baltic States. Things changed when Russia, Israel and the US became political allies in fight against world terrorism and NCSJ is one of the most powerful lobbyists of Russian interests in Capitol.

NCSJ delegation included president Joel Schindler, chairman Robert Meth and executive director Mark Levin. They all attended Conference of Federal Jewish National and Cultural autonomy and spent the evening in Russian Jewish Congress. Meeting RJC president Evgueni Satanovski representatives discussed coordination between Russia, Israel and the US and its perspectives, as well as different aspects of Russian and American Jewish internal life, possible ways to lobby Russian political and economic interests in Washington with a help of American Jewish organizations. Talkers focused on situation in Iraq after Saddam and potential of Jewish lobby in the US to be an intermediary between Russian and American industry to adjust unresolved question dealing with a role of Russian companies in the territories under American control.

After the meeting RJC president gave an entertainment in honour of NCSJ delegation. 


RIGHTEOUS MAN’S LETTER 

Russian Jewish Congress received the grateful letter from Righteous man of Nations Igor Aleksandrovich Polugorodnik living in Taganrog. The letter says: “I report that I have received a sequent aid and I thank you. Thanks to all RJC employees who took care about me. This aid is the grandest present for me and our family”.

Title of righteous man was given to Igor Aleksandorvich’s father, mother and brother by Israeli institute Yad Vashem.

For now Russian Jewish Congress pay monthly aid to fourteen righteous men, living in different Russian regions.