Euroasian Jewish News

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VAAD Ukraine Surprised By MFA Position

Joseph Zisels, Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) General Council Chairman and Chairman of the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities (VAAD) Ukraine, one of the initiating bodies of the EAJC, has sent an official letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Constantin Grischenko, expressing his surprise at the behaviour of the Ukrainian delegation in connection with the speech of the President of Iran at the UN General Assembly.

The letter reads: "On behalf of the active majority of the Ukrainian Jewish community, Vaad Ukraine expresses deep concern and great indignation at the absence of an adequate reaction from representatives of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign affairs to the revolting, provocational, and slanderous claims presented on September 24, 2010, by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran from the tribune of the United Nations General Aseembly during a summit dedicated to problems of the new millenium.

During his speech, the President of Iran practically placed responsibility for the horrible terroristic acts of September 11, 2001, on the government of the United States. According to the speaker, this was attempt to provide for "the survival of the Zionist regime."

A number of delegations left the assembly hall in protest against this cynical slander during Ahmadinejad's speech. In particular, the delegations from USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, and all twenty sevel delegations of the European Union states all walked out during the President's speech. Afterwards, the leaders of many countries made adresses to express their indignation and condemnation of the claims made by the Iranian leader. USA President Barack Obama called the speech "offensive and hateful." The Canada Minister of Foreign Affairs, Laurence Cannon, described Ahmadinejad's speech as a "a blatant violation of international standards and of the very spirit of the UN." High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union Catherine Ashton called the words of the President of the Islamic Republic "outrageous and unacceptable."
The Jewish Community of Ukraine is indignant that the Ukrainian delegation and the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not react in any way to the offensive remarks of the Iranian President, neither during his speech, nor at any time afterwards.

A year and a half ago, the absence of an adequate reaction from the Ukrainian delegation to the anti-Semitic remarks of the Iranian President, which he pronounced from the Geneva tribune during the United Nations Conference on combating racism, had already necessitated justifications from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Then, the passive approach of the Ukrainian representatives was explained by him falling asleep during Ahmadinejad's speech.

The Jewish community of Ukraine is concerned by the fact that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, a country which has lost no less than 1,5 million Jews during the Holocaust, has once again shown its numbness to cynicsm and anti-Semitic provocations that are unaccepatble in the modern civilized world."