RJC Monitor - 08.15.2003

 

The Russian Jewish Congress

VLADIMIR RESIN HEADS RJC SCHOOL BOARD

Russian Jewish Congress Bureau’s Presidium held a session in the Moscow government office on August 14. CF “RJC” School Board is decided to form. The first deputy head of Moscow government Vladimir Y. Resin was elected by a solid vote the chairman of School Board. During the same session V. Resin entered CF “RJC” Bureau’s Presidium.

The foundation of the RJC School Board does not only accomplish the institutional building of the Congress, but is designed to give a new impulse for many public figures and entrepreneurs to develop charity activities on behalf of developing programs for the Russian Jewish Community and Russia as a whole.

MONITORING OF ANTI-SEMITISM INCIDENTS, JULY 2003

Editorial staff of the Virtual Jewish Russian-Speaking Community and Russian Jewish Congress has been monitoring anti-Semitic incidents in the framework of the Internet project “No to anti-Semitism” (http://www.antisemitismu.net) and fixed 21 news about different actions against Jews during July 2003.

Anti-Semitists appeared as in Russia as in other countries. Heavy force acts tend to dominate everywhere including tough attacks against Jews and vandalism to their property, cultural and religious values. The quantity of such incidents is 12; it is precisely a half of all fixed incidents.

Here are short reports about some of them. Tough attacks with bodily injury and abuses occurred in Berlin and Kiev. In the first case a girl suffered. Kiev skinheads beat up Israeli juvenile of 18 years old, who was not afraid to answer the question about his nationality and said: “I am Jew”.

Last month the walls of synagogue in Chelyabinsk, British town Prestwich and Saint Deni (suburb of Paris) were hurt with abusive notes. There was a real massacre in Saint Deni: vandals of Arab origin and “local” anti-Semitists kicked in the synagogue “Or-Menahem” of Habad Movement tore prayer books and talits, wrote on the walls anti-Semitism slogans and claims to kill Jews.

In Novorossiysk Anti-Semitists stained with a color memorial plaque of the monument “To Unbroken People”, placed where fascists shot local Jews and captured Soviet raiders during the Second World War.

Unknown extremists in Saxonia-Anhalt abused Buchenvald museum in the place where 5 thousand prisoners worked in the underground air factory. Newspapers of fascism epoch with anti-Semitism content were glued over the walls of the camp.

Jewish gravestones were abused in the Vilnius cemetery.

“Long-suffering” memorial plaque to Benjamin Zuskin in Penza was attacked again. It was broken after reconstruction. On the same day memorial plaque to prominent gymnast, honored athlete Slabe who was Czech, suffered, for he was not “lucky” to be named Joseph.

Anti-Semitism incidents took place in other social fields, including political, cultural and domestic violence.

The Russian National Sovereign Party held meeting in Moscow. The party “National and Patriotic forces of RF” announced its first candidate in electoral list for State Duma elections. Former Krasnodar governor, now senator Nikolay Kondratenko famous for his anti-Semitic speeches, will head the list.

At the end of July Romanian president Ion Iliescu refused Holocaust in Romania in an interview with Israeli Haaretz’ newspaper.

Spearhead in Parnu one more time appealed to local officials with a proposal to set up the monument to SS legionaries.

Anti-Israeli photo exhibition worked in Ribchester, UK.

Authorities reacted to incidents in different ways. For example, Yaroslavl politics gave an aid to the local synagogue, suffered from vandals during the night, June 21-22. State Duma deputy Sergei Zaguidullin was the first who answered and gave a financial aid of 2 thousand rubles. The mayor of the city assigned 90 thousand rubles from the municipal budget to reconstruct the building.

Prosecutor office of German land Western Pomerania initiated a case against neo-fascism group. Moscow district court sustained a claim of retiree and veteran of the Second World War against anti-Semitism newspaper “Duel”, which published the article “Veterans of war – assault detachments of Jewish racists?”

Romanian president gave his speeches about Holocaust go-by and after the meeting with the chairman of “Bnai Brit” promised to support Disaster investigations.

But at the same time we often face authorities and especially law enforcement bodies disregarding the threat of anti-Semitism. In many cases authorities intervened too late or did not intervene at all. The claims from sufferers are not always accepted.

VIRTUAL COMMUNITY BECAME INTERNATIONAL

Virtual Jewish Russian-Speaking Community (VJRC) is one of the biggest Internet-projects, initiated and supported by Russian Jewish Congress. Today VJRC includes thousands of individuals, hundreds of legal bodies and dozens of sites.

Virtual Jewish Russian-Speaking Community has risen considerably for more then a year of its existence, while its activities overstepped virtual space and more and more emerges in real lives of its individuals. That is why Virtual Jewish Russian-Speaking Community was renamed into International Jewish Russian-Speaking Community (IJRC) according to their members’ proposal. New name corresponds better to the global humanitarian goal IJRC has today. You can get additional information about IJRC activities here: www.veronet.org