Belarus: Jewish group disappointed by dismissal of anti-Semitism

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Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 17:26:12 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: Belarus: Jewish group disappointed by dismissal of anti-Semitism

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

Original sender: Felix Corley <[email protected]>

Belarus: Jewish group disappointed by dismissal of anti-Semitism suit



Text of report in English by Belarusian news agency Belapan

Minsk, 11th May: The New York-based World Association of Belarusian
Jews (WABJ) has made a statement to express its concern about
interethnic and confessional tensions in Belarus. The WABJ's statement
comes in response to the publication of the book "The War According to
Mean Laws" by the Pravoslavnaya Initsiativa (Orthodox Initiative)
publishing house in Minsk at the end of 1999. The association believes
that the book describes Jews as an internal enemy responsible for
social and political problems in the country.

A number of Jewish organizations and private figures attempted to sue
the authors and publishers of the book, saying that it stirred up
hatred for the Jewish people. But a judge in a district court in Minsk
found that the material of the book was of a scientific nature and
dismissed the suit. The book blames 28,000 Belarusian Jews for
pursuing a policy of genocide against the Slavic population of
Belarus, said Yakaw Basin, deputy president of the Union of Belarusian
Jewish Associations and Communities, at a news conference in March.

In its statement, the WABJ says that the Pravoslavnaya Initsiativa
continues selling anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic books. The WABJ
mentions the book "About Jewish Fascism" by B. Mironaw and "The Roman
Catholic Church and Ecumenism" by H. Alyakseyew. The WABJ says that
the books "foment national and confessional hatred and will inevitably
lead to catastrophic consequences for Belarus and touch on other
countries, Russia above all". The association expresses surprise at
the position of the Israeli government officials who meet with their
Belarusian counterparts and sign interstate agreements with Belarus.
The WABJ is concerned that European countries keep silent on the
issue, and that the House of Representatives of the US Congress
ignored interethnic and confessional tensions in Belarus in its 3rd
May resolution.

Source: Belapan news agency, Minsk, in English 1320 gmt 11 May 00


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