Euroasian Jewish News

The resolutions adopted at the joint meeting of the Council of Vaad in Russia, Ural Regional Council of Jewish organizations and

RUSSIAN JEWS DEMAND TO STOP ANTI-SEMITISM
The Secretary General of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, the President of Federation of Jewish organizations and communities of Vaad in Russia, the Co-chairman of the Federal Jewish national-cultural autonomy, professor Mikhail Chlenov has promulgated the resolutions adopted in Ekaterinburg at the joint meeting of the Council of Vaad in Russia, Ural Regional Council of Jewish organizations and communities, and heads of Jewish national-cultural autonomies of Russia.
On the initiative of the Minister of Education of Russian Federation the resolution fixes the position of Jewish public organizations of Russia about introduction of the course "basis of orthodox culture" in state comprehensive schools. The resolution contains estimation of prospects for development of FJNCA institute in Russia and the appeal to the top government of Russian Federation to bridle anti-Semitism in its modern displays.
FJNCA development
The Conference considers it is necessary to develop the structure of Federal Jewish national-cultural autonomy (FJNCA), to transform it into really functioning authoritative organization acting in close contact with bodies of federal, regional and local authorities as well as with all public and religious associations interested in development of Jewish national life in Russia.
Among the primary goals of the FJNCA there is coordination of positions of all the participants of this process for creation of high-grade system of Jewish education, development of national culture and languages, formation of the Jewish consciousness.
It is necessary to use all opportunities incorporated in the law of Russian Federation about national-cultural autonomies and to achieve increase of the national-cultural autonomies status together with autonomies of other nations of our country acting at federal level, to create the organized mechanism of interaction of autonomies with the Ministries of Education, Culture, Justices, Federal assembly of Russian Federation and Administration of the President of Russian Federation. All this should transform national-cultural autonomies into important tool of the state national policy serving the development of democracy and harmonization of interethnic relations in the country.
Growth of anti-Semitic conspicuity
We, participants of the Conference, express deep concern in growth of anti-Semitic displays in our country and impunity of those who order, organize and, practically, carry out such mean activity.
To anti-Semitic actions, alas, familiar to Russian public such as violence over Jews; vandalism at the Jewish cemeteries, synagogues and public buildings; offensive graffiti on walls and fences; phone calls with threats to Jewish activists there were added new severe forms such as mined posters with anti-Semitic slogans having caused numerous victims as well as direct violent actions directed against attendants of the Judaic cult. Anti-Semites have received the even greater space in Mass-Media and TV broadcast (for example, the program "Antidesa" on "Moskovia" TV channel). Due to actions of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation anti-Semites have received constant registration in public-political life of the Russian Federation on behalf of National-state party (NSPR), whose program documents are full of unambiguous militant chauvinism and barefaced Judophobia.
Despite of declarative statements of government representatives as for inadmissibility of national and religious extremism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia, law enforcement bodies, first of all, Office of Public Prosecutor, in fact take under protection those who stir up national and religious divisions. The Office of Public Prosecutor either refuses to bring criminal cases under the article 282 "Causing national, racial and religious hostility" or opens such cases for them to be soon closed. For example, in Ekaterinburg the criminal case opened on the fact of distribution by Ekaterinburg diocese of anti-Semitic materials, including the xenophobic book by S.Nilus with "Reports of Zionist wise men", was closed "... due to absence of event of the crime". Criminal cases brought on the facts of edition and distribution of such anti-Semitic and extremist editions as "Russian community of Ekaterinburg", "I am Russian", "Kolokol" and others having received numerous warnings from the Ministry of Press, were closed "due to absence of criminal activity" that affords their publishers to continue distributing of xenophobic editions.
In Moscow and other cities the Office of Public Prosecutor refuses to start criminal prosecution or closes the investigations on the most extreme and barefaced anti-Semitic and xenophobic editions (for example, the case of the notorious editor-in-chief of "Vityaz" publishing house V.Korchagin closed for the same reason stated as "absence of criminal activity"). All this states that many officers of law enforcement bodies, probably, are xenophobes supporting anti-Semitism. We are convinced that anti-Semitism in any of its form is a serious threat to stability and safety of the Russian society, to prestige of the Russian state and to course of reforms of the Russian Government. We address to the top government of our country with an appeal to promulgate political estimation of anti-Semitic displays to provide strict observance of constitutional laws of the Jewish minority.
Introduction of the "bases of orthodox culture"
We, participants of the Conference, having discussed the initiative of the Minister of Education of Russian Federation about introduction of the course "basis of orthodox culture" in state comprehensive schools, believe that such innovation breaks the Constitution of the Russian Federation and principles of detachment the church from the state and schools from the church.
Teaching "bases of orthodox culture" in state comprehensive school puts children from the Jewish families in unequal position as well as children from families of other creeds, or adherents of public sights and atheism. So-called, voluntary refusal of children from the above mentioned families from studying the "bases of orthodox culture" will allocate them from the rest of pupils and will create preconditions of interreligious and interethnic intensity.
We treat introduction of the course "bases of orthodox culture" as the veiled form of introducing religious orthodox education in state comprehensive schools. We consider inclusion the subjects of religious education in the program of state comprehensive schools to be inadmissible and we suggest enriching training courses of social science and history with all-encompassing religious studies.

EAJC Public Relations and Media Department