On behalf of the EAJC.org editors: as we have written many times, accusations of anti-Semitism (usually deceitful and provocative) became a significant part of the information war around recent Ukrainian events. Today, statements about the anti-Semitism of the new government have become an important part of the propaganda supporting Russian military aggression and the occupation of Ukrainian territory. Against this background, a vacuous and politically manipulative event took place in the Knesset of Israel on March 19. During that event, several pro-Russian propagandists headed by the ultra-right provocateur Avigdor Eskin, who has had multiple convictions by the Israeli court, bombarded the Knesset deputies who were not careful enough to avoid this farce with intense and insolent disinformation about the situation in Ukraine’s Jewish community. According to the speakers, anti-Semitism has gone through the roof in Ukraine, and Jews are afraid to leave their homes, are persecuted, and await a new Babiy Yar mass shooting. We would like to cite just one quote so that our readers can see for themselves how cynical and deceitful the speakers were: “A truly vile-anti-Semitic regime has come to power. Over one month of its existence it has already approved more Nazi laws that Nazi Germany had in its first year.”

A number of Ukrainian Jewish activists and appalled citizens of Israel wrote an open letter to Knesset members, aiming to explain the farce Knesset deputies had to witness. We hereby give the text of this address.


We, Jews of Ukraine and citizens of Israel who emigrated from former Soviet Union countries wish to express our indignation at the outrageous provocation against Ukrainian Jewry that took place in the Knesset on March 19, 2014.
The event, which was organized by professional political technologists, was aimed to use Knesset members in the fight against Ukrainian Jewry and Ukraine. The “representatives of Ukrainian Jewry” who were invited to the event included Myroslava Berdnik, Galina Lebedinskaya, Dmitry Gubin, and Elena Raigorodetskaya. These people are not experts in anti-Semitism, no one empowered them to speak on behalf of the Jewish community, they are well-known for their Stalinist views, and, judging by the video of the event, they outright lied to Knesset members.
We understand that the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia is not simple for Israel, which is in a delicate situation and wants to quarrel with no one. This is why we do not call for Israel to interfere in this conflict, even though the aggression of one side against the other and Russia’s breach of international law are both obvious. We understand Israeli politicians who believe that Israel must remain neutral, though we do not share that point of view. We understand the logic of the idea that Israel cannot interfere in the unfolding events and must react only if Jews are in danger.
With that in mind, we would like to state with all responsibility that there has been absolutely no strengthening of anti-Semitism in Ukraine. In stating this we are relying on the professional, systematic, and all-encompassing anti-Semitism monitoring that the Jewish community is untertaking. The government is carrying out a clear policy of fighting any manifestations of anti-Semitism and xenophobia. All talks about a supposed “growth of anti-Semitism and neo-Nazism in Ukraine, and a possible threat to the Jewish community” are not only explicit lies but a vile provocation aimed at the Knesset members with the goal of using them in the interests of a third country.
We, the undersigned, are Jews from the countries of the former Soviet Union. Some of us live in Ukraine, some have repatriated to Israel, though continue to uphold close ties with a wide circle of Ukrainian Jews. We are simple community members, civil and community activists. We are not rabbis or official leaders of Jewish organizations, who have already spoken out but who might be suspected of “wanting to preserve good relations with the government.” We are socially active, have a wide range of acquaintances and contacts, both personal and working, and thus we know the situation in our country well. We can speak out openly in our own name and in the name of all our Jewish friends and acquaintances, and we do not fear speaking out.
This is why we can say, assuming full responsibility for our statement, that all talks about how “anti-Semitism is raising its ugly head” are merely provocations.
MEMBERS OF THE KNESSET AND JOURNALISTS - YOU ARE BEING MISINFORMED AND USED BY PROFESSIONAL PROVOCATEURS AND POLITICAL TECHNOLOGISTS!
We believe that since the Jewish community of Ukraine is in no more danger than any other Jewish community in any other country, Israel should not be looking into these questions. And, of course, they are not matters to be discussed in the Knesset right now. The very fact of a public discussion is then picked by media which are hostile to Ukraine or merely mislead, and shown as if they were “evidence” of Israel’s worrying about the situation. This is an element of the informational war against Ukraine - a war that you are being pulled into.
There are many real aspects to the close ties of Ukrainian Jews with Israel. There are many examples and initiatives of cultural and social cooperation that need to be supported and strengthened, especially now, when Ukraine has become the target of armed intervention and part of its lands are occupied by foreign powers. There is no danger to Ukrainian Jews from “Bandera followers”; it is nothing more than a myth. We state with all responsibility and most emphatically that the current Ukrainian government is in no way ill with the disease of anti-Semitism. There are Jews in the government and Jews are being assigned to various positions.
We stress that there is absolutely no anti-Semitism in the government or the state at the moment. To “defend” Ukrainian Jews in such a situation merely means upholding the opposite side in this conflict - which is just what it wants. Calls to “defend” Ukrainian Jews in this situation are nothing more than propagandist justification of a foreign military intervention and occupation.
This is why we call upon Israel not to play into the hands of the propaganda support of the foreign intervention and thus not to fall for provocative acts.
It is very telling that the two who brought this provocation to the Knesset are rather notorious. The first was David Eidelman, a professional political technologist who specializes in creating political campaigns for any who would pay. The second is Avigdor Eskin, a man already once convicted by the Israeli court for illegal activity. He has recently published an article calling for Russia’s military aggression upon Ukraine, and now seeks to involve the Knesset in this campaign. It is interesting that this fan of the apartheid sysem is trying to feign concern about Fascism and countering it. It is very easy to see who has ordered this campaign and to whose advantage it is. It has no relationship whatsoever to the needs of Ukrainian Jews.
Today, the Ukrainian government is giving maximum effort to protecting Jewish synagogues and the Jews themselves, as well as preventing even the slightest governmental anti-Semitism at all levels (state, municipal, and so on). The several famous recent incidents seem to have been well-planned acts, not done by simply hooligans but by well-prepared person. We believe that these were not anti-Semitic attacks, but provocative PR acts aimed to discredit the Maidan protest movement and the new Ukrainian government. The Knesset meeting is also a part of this propaganda campaign.
This is why we call out to the Knesset members: do not fall for the provocation! You are being used by a third party for its shady purposes, which have nothing to do with protecting Jewish interests. By merely holding this event you have already allowed yourselves to be provoked. Please, do not fall for this in the future.
If you wish, we can meet you in any form you would find acceptable and explain the situation in person. We are sending this letter openly because the information about the meeting is already being used as a chip in the information war. And we wish to pitch our voices against that.

Respectfully,

Vladimir Amdur, Bat Yam, Israel
Igor Amdur, Bat Yam, Israel
Evgeniya Antusheva, web administrator, Rehovot
Alexander Barabash, software developer, Rehovot
Mihail Baskin, Jerusalem
Marina Belotserkovskaya, psychologst, journalist, Dusseldorf, Germany (from Dniepropetrivsk)
Valeria Beatus, editor, Eli
Tatyana Ben Shimol, Haifa
Arthur Birman, businessman, Holon, Israel
Svetlana Birman, Holon Israel
Vadim Bugayenko, Algorithm Engineer, Ramat Gan
Matvei Weisberg, artist, Kyiv
Tatyana Vinnitskaya, Ramat Gan, Israel
Leon Burgaft, Haifa, Israel
Yelena Galatova, orientalist, translator, Jerusalem
Grigoriy Geyber, Bat Yam
Mihail Gold, journalist, Kyiv
Igor Golfman, essayist, Kyiv
Gennadiy Gorodetsky, Ramat Gan
Eduard Greenberg, historian, Jerusalem
Alex Gurevich, Yokneam Illit, Jerusalem
Olga Denisenko, Tel-Aviv
Roman Deriy, Kiryat Arba
Valeria Didenko, Israel
Elena Donskaya, teacher, Kharkiv
Olga Dubinskaya, doctor, Kharkiv
Olga Zhikhaherva, Bat Yam
Elena Zaslavskaya, designed, Kyiv
Ilya Yosiboshvili, Holon
Evgeniy Kagan, archeologist, Jerusalem
Reuven Kagan, software developer, Jerusalem
Alexander Kalashnikov, tax consultant, Be'er Sheva, Israel
Iryna Kalashnikov, Be'er Sheva, Israel
Ilya Kantselson, Lod
Alexander Kaptyuh, engineer, Haifa
Iryna Kaptyuh, engineer, Haifa
Rimma Klimova (Solomenskaya), Migdal ha-Emek
Halyna Koynash, Kharkiv Human Rights Defense Group, Kharkiv
Nadezda Koryakina, historian, Kfar Eldad
Elena Kotlyarskaya, editor, Jerusalem
Irying Kriger, teacher, Dniepropetrivsk
Boris Kryzhopolsky, tour guide, Haifa
David Krutchenitsky, software tester, Modiin, Israel
Sergey Kulchevich, teacher, Amsterdam
Michael Latman, Netanya, Israel
Olga Latman, Netanya, Israel
Evgeniya Levinstein, author and editor, Kharkiv
Anna Lenchovskaya, psychologist, Kyiv
Vyacheslav Likhachev, historian, Jerusalem
Lyudmila Logvinove, Netanya
Maria Loymet, Beith Dagat
Rachel Malevskaya, student, Jerusalem
Emilia Margolina, philologist and teacher, Petah Tikva
Marina Medvedeva, Cherkasy, Ukraine
Yuliya Mirmovich, translator, Bat Yam
Vitaliy Mordukovich, retiree, Be'er Sheva
Vladimir Mordukhai-Boltovsky, Israel
Alexandra Nazarova, social activist, Kyiv
Anna Nekrasova, translator, cultural studies expert, Jerusalem
Andrei Ovrutsky, Holon, Israel
Vladimir Osetinsky, teacher, Kharkiv
Andrei Pavlyusk, historian, Mykolayiv, Ukraine
Mikhail Penzin, fire safety systems designer, Haifa
Alena Pilch, QA, Petah Tikva
Elmira Perelman, Bat Yam
Vitaliy Portnikov, journalist, Kyiv
Mikhail Ratinsky, Kfar Saba, Israel
Oleg Rostovtsev, journalist, Dniepopetrivsk
Dmitriy Rubashkin, Kyiv – Kfar Saba
Pavel Ryazanov, Be'er Sheva, Israel
Roman Tivekeev, software developer, Be'er Sheva
Diana Sand, Be'er Sheva
Dmitriy Saratsky, Haifa, Israel
Mihail Slavutsky, Bat Yam, Israel
Lyudmila Soboleva, Kharkiv
Ilya Sokolov, blogger, Netanya
Alex Sorkin, Migdal ha-Emek
Vera Sorkin, Bat Yam
Alisa Stav, psychologist, Ramat Gan (Kyiv)
Mikhail Uritsky, historian and sociologist, columnist of the Relevantinfo website, Jerusalem
Artem Fedorchuk, historian, Kfar Eldad
Arthur Fredekind, writer, Koblentz, Germany
Galina Haraz, web designer, Jerusalem
Victor Harik, designer, Dusseldorf, Germany (from Kyiv)
Tatyana Khorunzhaya, historian, Kyiv
Alex Tsuker, Holon
Anna Chlenova, translator, Jerusalem
Israel Shalem, businessman, Jerusalem
Tatyana Shalem, housewife, Jerusalem
Alexander Shatsky, company director, Kharkiv
Galina Shatskaya, accountant, Ashkelon
Anatoliy Schmuel Shelest, artist, Jerusalem
Marina Shelest, historian of art, Jerusalem
Igal Schneerson, Be'er Sheva, Israel
Aron Shustin, Petah Tikva
Esther Yaglom, researcher of kabbalah, Jerusalem
Anatoliy Yakubvov, film director and teacher, Kharkiv, Ukraine
Laria Yakubovich, Haifa
Boris Yampolsky, R&D and Lab manager, Haifa
Miroslav Yatsentyuk, Holon, Israel
and others [over 100 signatures]