The Association of Jewish Communities and Organizations (VAAD) Ukraine and the Congress of National Communities of Ukraine call upon all political, religious, and societal forces in Ukraine and beyond its borders to abstain from any statements that would disrupt inter-ethnic peace in Ukraine.

Over the entire course of Euromaidan’s battle, even during the worst of the confrontations, Ukrainian citizens of different ethnicities and faiths stood untied.

Today, when the armed stand-off has come to an end and the country is returning to peaceful life, one of the most important tasks at hand is to preserve that unity of all citizens. Only thus can we quickly and effectively overcome all the problems that have accumulated over dozens of years and that have become far more aggravated in recent years.

Under these circumstances, spreading rumors of inter-ethnic conflicts and “predictions” of pogroms and ethnic purges should be viewed as deliberate provocations aimed at destroying the sovereign, united, and democratic Ukrainian state.

We stand firmly against such acts and insist that today Ukraine’s internal forces and processes pose no real threats to national minorities in Ukraine.

We warn organizations and their leaders who artificially sustain a high level of fear and anxiety in Ukrainian society, first and foremost in the Jewish community, for their own fundraising (gathering money for safety purposes) about their responsibility for the consequences of such actions.

The creation of a modern Ukrainian political nation requires our unity in standing against the forces of vengeance and neo-imperialist aggression.

Only together we shall be victorious.

Josef Zisels

VAAD Ukraine Chairman

Executive Vice President of the Congress of National Communities of Ukraine