RJC Monitor - 10.31.2002

 

The Russian Jewish Congress




Information Bulletin # 32 

RJC LEADER COMMENTS ON HOSTAGE STANDOFF IN MOSCOW

Russian Jewish Congress President Yevgeny Satanovsky appeared October 25 in the newsroom of the Mir Novostei information agency to comment on Chechen gunmen's siege of a Moscow theater, with over eight hundred people taken hostage. 

Yielding to the terrorists' demands would not solve the Chechen conflict, but would only escalate it further, Mr. Satanovsky warned, citing Israel 's terror-fighting experience to corroborate his point. He cautioned against exerting political pressure on those negotiating the release of the hostages, arguing that this may cause the negotiators to commit errors fatal for the captives. 

The Russians must come to realize that they are living in a state of war, Mr. Satanovsky said, referring to the military campaign that the federal government is waging in the breakaway republic of Chechnya . He went on to say the Chechen war has no marked frontline and that it affects the entire nation, so no one can really feel secure in this country today. With this in view, Russia 's civilian population should be allowed to exercise the right to self-defense, as is the case in Israel and the United States , he pointed out. Russian citizens should be given the means to defend themselves and their families from terrorism and other forms of crime without having to wait for official help, the RJC leader emphasized. In his opinion, the army and the police should be keen to see the public involved in the fight against terrorism, as this is too big a challenge for them to handle on their own. Mr. Satanovsky suggested creating a civil defense system like the one that existed in Russia in the Cold War era. But while the old system was intended as a means of repelling a potential attack by one specific nuclear power, today there is a need for a system capable of confronting the very real threat constituted by global terrorism, he noted. 

Mr. Satanovsky described as "indicative" the television coverage of Palestinian Cabinet sessions, with PA President Yasser Arafat "denouncing" terrorism, and of a visit to Moscow by Prince Turki al-Feisal, one-time Saudi intelligence chief infamous for patronizing the al-Qaeda terrorist network. He remarked that to him, the visiting Saudi Prince looked like a professor examining students-those Islamic militants who were holding hundreds of innocent people hostage in a Moscow theater. 

The RJC President called for vigilance, yet cautioned against any backlash attacks on the Chechen community. He said the Russians should cooperate with migrants from Chechnya and other republics of the North Caucasus in the fight against terrorism, using insider knowledge of the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of Islamic militants to avert future terrorist acts. 

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER COMES UNDER FIRE

The building intended for the Hatikvah community center of Novosibirsk , in Siberia , came under fire in the small hours of October 20. Some material damage was done to the building, but its guardsman remained unhurt. 

Investigators say there were four perpetrators and that they fired a hunting rifle. One suspect has already been detained. His Winchester , with a five-round box magazine, is currently undergoing forensic tests, which will establish whether the gun was the one used to shoot at the Hatikvah center. Meanwhile, police are hunting for the other criminals involved. 

The investigating team has come out with three theories: hooliganism, hate crime, and protest against what may be viewed by some as misappropriation of premises. This latter theory arises from the fact that the building, located in a residential neighborhood, was initially earmarked for a food store, but has now been handed over to the Jewish community center. Which of the three theories is right yet remains to be seen. 

The Hatikvah center will not be able to move in until after the building has been repaired, and the repairs will take several weeks.

RJC MONITORING VORONEZH HATE CRIMES PROBE

The Russian Jewish Congress has received a reply from the Voronezh Prosecutor's Office to RJC President Yevgeny Satanovsky's request for an update on the probe into the July 5 anti-Semitic incidents in that city. The letter is signed by A. Kosyakin, senior aide to the Voronezh Region Prosecutor for federal security and inter-ethnic relations. It provides detailed information about the investigation launched in connection with the discovery of anti-Jewish signs at several spots across the city. The erection of posters carrying anti-Semitic slogans is classified as hate crime, and is punishable under Article 282 of the Russian Penal Code. 

Mr. Kosyakin promises to keep the RJC updated as the investigation advances.

HABAD HASIDIM DECLARE ANATHEMA ON EURASIAN RABBINICAL COUNCIL

The founding conference of the Eurasian Rabbinical Council ran October 21 through 23 in Almaty, a major city in the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan. Jewish religious leaders from 15 countries of Europe , Asia and the Pacific Rim , including former Soviet republics, had been invited to attend by Euro-Asian Jewish Congress President Alexander Mashkevitch and Chief Rabbi Yeshaya Cohen of Kazakhstan . The Russian delegation was led by Chief Rabbi Adolph Schaewitz of Russia and Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt of Moscow . The host country's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and its chief mufti greeted the gathering. 

The Habad Hasidim is vehemently opposed to the idea of bringing together the various movements in Judaism. Some of the Habad leaders even put the Almaty conference in herem (or excommunication). They bitterly criticized the Chief Rabbi of Kazakhstan , who used to work with Habad's Or Avner foundation, for having arranged the conference and for cooperating with R. Goldschmidt to form a Eurasian Rabbinical Council. And they reproached this latter for cooperation with adherents to Reform Judaism. They went as far as likening Goldschmidt to Avigdor Chaimowitz, who was the No.1 enemy of Shneur Zalman, a disciple of the Gaon of Vilna and the founder of the Lubavitcher or Habad school of Hasidim . 

R. Goldschmidt is a second person to have earned the label in recent history, after the Israeli spiritual authority Rav Shach, who contested the assertion by some of the Hasidim that Lubavitcher Rebbe Menahem M. Schneersohn was the Messiah. 

The Eurasian Rabbinical Council would give various Jewish religious organizations an opportunity to operate in the Former Soviet Union. 

As is known, Habad operates here through its Or Avner foundation. Why does it deny the right to other congregations then? 

RJC-SPONSORED PROJECTS: MOSCOW JEWISH CHAMBER CHOIR

The Moscow Jewish Chamber Choir was set up in 1990, thanks to Adolph Schaewitz, then Chief Rabbi of the Soviet Union , and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). The Choir made its debut at the Moscow Choral Synagogue, appearing before a large audience to perform Jewish music outlawed in this country for the seventy-odd years of Communist rule. The Russian Jewish Congress' support for this performing group is part of a program to revive cantorial and choral music of the synagogue in Russia . 

The choir's artistic director is Mikhail Turetsky, recommended for the position by Moscow 's Gnesins School of Music. His technical virtuosity, expressive style, and original interpretation have earned him wide acclaim with audiences and music professionals alike. In 1993, Turetsky won the World Cantors Gold Crown Award. 

Turetsky's choristers have been educated at some of the best Russian schools of music. He has propelled many of them into successful solo careers. 

The Moscow Jewish Chamber Choir has achieved tremendous success thanks to its beautiful choral ensemble sound, its perfect tonal quality, its timbral diversity, and its sense of humor. It effectively combines the academic tradition of singing a cappella with elements of modern show aesthetics, including instrumental accompaniment, choreography, and lighting. International music critics now rank the Moscow Jewish Chamber Choir among the world's top male choral ensembles.

VIRTUAL JEWISH RUSSIAN-SPEAKING COMMUNITY RELEASES SECOND ISSUE OF ITS NEWSLETTER

The Virtual Jewish Russian-Speaking Community (VJRSC) has brought out a second issue of its newsletter. The fresh edition informs readers about the Community's newest projects. Here are some of them: 

- the program "Terror Acts in Israel //VJRSC Hotline" continues the collection of signatures under a letter of solidarity with Israel . Over 16,000 signatures have been collected so far; 

- at the suggestion of visitors to the Yafa.Ru portal, the VJRSC Viewpoint project and the site's related rubric have taken up new topics, such as "The Resurge of Anti-Semitism in Europe," "U.S. Anti-Iraqi Campaign: Implications for Israel," and "Independent Palestinian State: Threat or Solution?"; 

- this month has registered the 3000th visitor to the Yafa.Ru Jewish mail server. Such a large number of visitors can be attributed to the server's reliable and high-speed performance and its effective anti-virus protection of messages. Yafa.Ru remains the most popular Jewish Internet mail server with Russian-speaking Jewish users; 

- a Business Services server has been started as part of the VJRSC project "The World of Business," for community members to be able to give and take orders for consulting, marketing, insurance, delivery and other kinds of services, as well as to find business partners; 

- a grant was allocated this past August, for the development of Jewish Russian-language web sites under the VJRSC. The VJRSC architects are now selecting the most interesting of the projects submitted to compete for the grant. For details, please write at grants@yafa.ru; 

- the Russian Jewish Congress and the Virtual Jewish Russian-Speaking Community have released a printed booklet featuring the VJRSC project. The booklet is to be distributed among Jewish Russian-speaking communities. 

One of the most interesting among the VJRSC's newly-launched projects is a Miss Yafa beauty contest. Although arranged by an organization involved with Jewish-oriented projects, the contest is open to all beauties, regardless of their nationality, ethnic origin, and faith. It will be held in two rounds. In the first, online round, visitors to the site will select their nominees from among the applicants. The contest's winner will be determined in a second round, to be held in Moscow under the auspices of the RJC.