Press Release - 05.15.2000

 

Belarus Court Rejects 
Community Appeal

WASHINGTON – A City Court in Minsk, Belarus, has upheld an earlier decision regarding a libel suit brought by the Jewish community against an anti-Semitic book. The libel suit, brought by the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Belarus charged that the book, A War According to the Laws of Viciousness, "discredits the honor, dignity and reputation of Jews."

After deliberating for ten minutes, the presiding judges upheld the regional court’s previous decision that the book was of "scientific importance." During the proceedings spectators shouted, "You kikes have it too good!" and "Not enough of the Jews were exterminated during the War."

The book is a collection of anti-Semitic material taken from extremist sources including the notorious 19^th century Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which charges Jews with genocide against the Russian people, and other anti-Semitic statements and references. In an April 12 meeting with the NCSJ Board of Governors, Association President Leonid Levin of Minsk stressed that "Jews are the litmus test for the truth of a state’s political climate and will always be the card played by politicians in difficult situations."

In letters sent in March to Mr. Ivan Ivanovich Pashkevich, Deputy Head of Presidential Administration of the Republic of Belarus, and to Ambassador Valery Tsepkalo, Embassy of Belarus, NCSJ wrote, "the distribution of this book incites inter-ethnic hatred and undermines the prospects for civil society in Belarus"…and called on the government "to take a strong and principled stand against those who promote intolerance, bigotry, and anti-Semitism." NCSJ remains in close contact with government and community leaders in Belarus and will continue to support the Belarus Jewish community’s efforts to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

NCSJ, a non-for-profit agency created in 1971, is the mandated central coordinating agency in the United States on behalf of the 1.5 million Jews in the successor states. Today, NCSJ continues its commitment to safeguard the religious and political freedoms of Jews living in the successor states, protect their right to emigrate without impediment, monitor and combat anti-Semitism, and ensure that Jews have full access to Jewish education, culture, and heritage.