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September 24, 2004/Tishri 9 5765, Vol. 57, No. 4
Anti-Semitism in Ukrainian media
VLADIMIR MATVEYEV AND WALTER RUBY
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
KIEV, Ukraine - One of Ukraine's most powerful politicians has refused to denounce a leading Ukrainian newspaper for publishing a virulently anti-Semitic article asserting that 400,000 Jews joined the German Security Service during the Nazi invasion of Ukraine in 1941.
In an exclusive interview with JTA, Aleksandr Moroz, leader of the Socialist Party of Ukraine and a candidate for president in elections scheduled for Oct. 31, said he was in no position to determine the veracity of the notorious opinion piece in Silski Visti, or Village News.
"I have defended Silski Visti and will continue to do so," Moroz said. "I personally think the argument of the author of the article, Vasily Yaremenko, citing 400,000 Jews in the S.S. is incorrect, but I am not in a position to know all the facts."
Moroz's comments, along with statements by other leading Ukrainians, indicate a worrisome acceptance of a surge of anti-Semitism in the mass media as Ukraine gears up for the elections.
Although Moroz is unlikely to win the election - he is currently drawing about 10 percent of the vote - his refusal to condemn Silski Visti is significant because he is a respected figure who has led the charge in accusing the government of corruption and complicity in the murder of an opposition journalist.
The article, "Jews in Ukraine Today: Reality Without Myths," was published last fall as a paid advertisement in the newspaper, which with 500,000 readers is one of the most widely circulated newspapers in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in an interview with JTA, the paper's editor, Vasily Gruzin, defended the newspaper's decision to publish the piece.
"Although we published the Yaremenko article as a paid advertisement and not as a position we ourselves endorsed, I happen to believe the figure of 400,000 Jews taking part in the German invasion of the Ukraine is not far from the truth," he said.
"I personally have nothing against common Jews, but rather against a small group of Jewish oligarchs who control Ukraine both economically and politically. I believe the point of Zionism today is Jewish control of the world, and we see this process at work in Ukraine today."
Not long after the Yaremenko article appeared, Moroz, Victor Yuschenko - a pro-Western presidential candidate who is believed to be favored by the Bush administration - and another prominent opposition leader, Yulia Timoshenko, issued a statement headed "Hands Off Silski Visti," opposing an effort by the government to shut down the newspaper on grounds of inciting ethnic discord.
The statement further cited the need for freedom of the press from government control.
With a few exceptions, nearly all of the mass media here are tightly controlled by the government of President Leonid Kuchma, who balances between Russia and the United States and has allowed Jewish life to flourish.
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