WASHINGTON, May 30, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The
following is being released by the US-Ukraine Observer:
Director of the American Center for Democracy Rachel Ehrenfeld
observes in a recent commentary that anti-Semitism remains a
prevalent and troubling problem in Ukraine and that Ukraine's Svoboda political party encourages
and fuels this hatred. Writing for The Algenmeier, based in
New York, Ehrenfeld writes:
"In Ukraine, the noisiest
anti-Semitic group is the Svoboda ("Freedom")
party. Established in 1991 as the "Social-National Party of
Ukraine" under the SS-era symbol
of the Wolfsangel. In 2004, with new leader Oleh Tyahnybok, the
party renamed itself and adopted innocuous symbols. That,
however, didn't change the Nazi characteristic of the party.
Tyahnybok himself has stated on several occasions that the
"Moscow-Jewish mafia" is running Ukraine. Other prominent party members
have often used the derogatory, anti Jewish slur "zhid",
including against Ukrainian-born American actress Mila Kunis, suggesting she was not a "real"
Ukrainian because of her Jewish heritage. Svoboda supporters
include among their heroes leaders of pro-Nazi World War II
organizations known for their atrocities against Jews and Poles,
such as the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), the
Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), and the 14th Waffen-SS Galicia
Division. (To Svoboda's vocal displeasure, Poland's parliament recently introduced a
resolution condemning the OUN and the UPA for wartime massacres of
Polish civilians.)"
Ehrenfeld argues that words and associations are not the only
concerns about Svoboda. "As reported by the Jewish
Telegraph Agency (JTA) in April, Svoboda thugs took part in an
opposition demonstration against the government of President
Viktor Yanukovych, and provoked a
small riot in Cherkassy, a city some 125 miles southeast of
Kyiv," writes Ehrenfeld.
"Outfitted with T-shirts emblazoned with the words "Beat the
zhids!," the Svoboda goons' provocation has, according to JTA,
"raised anxieties among Ukrainian Jews fearful of rising xenophobia
and racially motivated violence." Joel Rubinfeld, co-chair of
the European Jewish Parliament, is quoted saying: "Svoboda lifted
the lid from the sewer of anti-Semitism in Ukraine and it's spilling out," she
continues.
In her commentary, Ehrenfeld acknowledges that Ukraine's other leading opposition political
parties have done nothing to shun Svoboda's anti-Semitism and, in
fact, have embraced by forming a united opposition to the
government of Ukraine president
Viktor Yanukovych. Ehrenfeld writes: "Tyahnybok and his party
have already benefited from cooperation with the "mainstream"
Batkivshchina and UDAR forces, which claim a 'pro-western
orientation' and accuse Yanukovych and his ruling Party of Regions
(PoR) of being pro-Russian. With a strong regional base in
the western part of Ukraine,
Svoboda emerged as a major element in the parliament following the
October 2012 election, pulling in
over 10 percent of the vote nationwide. Svoboda also controls local
governments in parts of its home region and boosted–with the
support of other opposition parties–pension payments for local
veterans of the SS Galicia Division. Hoping to enhance their
future prospects, recently Yatsenyuk and Klitschko appeared
together with Tyahnybok to cement a joint opposition electoral
program against the current government."
Rachel Ehrenfeld is the director
of the New York-based American
Center for Democracy.
The Algenmeier: "Svoboda Fuels Ukraine's Growing Anti-Semitism"
http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/05/24/svoboda-fuels-ukraines-growing-anti-semitism/
Contact: US-Ukraine Observer, Frank
Abernathy, 615-290-5662, usukraineobserver@gmail.com
SOURCE US-Ukraine Observer