Misplaced Pages

Union of Councils for Soviet Jews: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 21:01, 29 March 2007 editHodja Nasreddin (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Pending changes reviewers31,217 edits rv← Previous edit Revision as of 03:25, 30 March 2007 edit undoVlad fedorov (talk | contribs)4,845 edits rv - biased and usupported statements introduced by Biophys reverted to Mikkalai versionNext edit →
Line 1: Line 1:
'''Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union''' (abbreviated '''UCSJ''') is a collection of ] ] organizations working in ] and ]. They are based in ], but are linked to other organizations such as the ] and have offices in the countries in where they operate. '''Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union''' (abbreviated '''UCSJ''') is a collection of ] ] organizations working in ] and ]. They are based in ], but are linked to other organizations such as the ]{{Fact|date=February 2007}} and have offices in the countries in where they operate.


The UCSJ was formed in ] as a response to the second class citizen status of Jews in the ] and ]. Today, most of its offices are based within the ] where it has 8 member councils, although there are seven offices in various locations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including ], ], ], ], ], ] and ] (although this was closed in ]). The UCSJ was formed in ] as a response to the second class citizen status of Jews in the ] and ]{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. Today, most of its offices are based within the ] where it has 8 member councils, although there are six offices in various locations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including ], ], ], ], ], ]{{Fact|date=February 2007}}.


Their activities include reporting on the human rights situations of countries in the FSU, as well as assisting communities in need, providing support for ] and ], exposing ]s and ]s, whether these are targeted against ]s or other minorities Their activities include reporting on the human rights situations of countries in the FSU, as well as assisting communities in need, providing support for ] and ], exposing ]s and ]s, whether these are targeted against ]s or other minorities
in the region, such as ] or ]s. <ref name="testimony">
in the region, such as ] or ]s. It receives funding from the ] of the ] as part of a three-year project designed to combat ], ] and ] in Eastern European countries and the reports it produces on the situation in various countries are often presented to the ].
</ref> <ref name="Stomakhin"> , November 20, 2006 </ref> <ref name="Pskov"> , December 29, 2006</ref> <ref name="racism"> , December 28, 2006</ref>. It receives funding from the ] of the ] as part of a three-year project designed to combat ], ] and ] in Eastern European countries and the reports it produces on the situation in various countries are often presented to the ].


Some 525,000 Jews remained in the post-Soviet states in 2003. Almost 450,000 of them live in ], ], ] and ] . Some 525,000 Jews remained in the post-Soviet states in 2003. Almost 450,000 of them live in ], ], ] and ] .


⚫ A branch of the UCSJ was closed by the ] as part of what many observers saw as a wider crackdown on political ] in the region. (''main article - ]''){{Fact|date=February 2007}}
==Notable statements by UCSJ==
===Blood Libel accusations===
Nineteen members of the ] from ] and the ] party have signed a letter demanding Jewish organizations be banned in Russia. The letter referred to ] as a ] promoting ] and made reference to the ]. In that regard, UCSJ made the following statement:
*"The best example of how far some members of the national parliament are willing to go to demonize minorities came in January 2005, when 19 members of the ] from ] and the ] party signed an open letter to the Prosecutor General’s office demanding that Jewish groups be banned in Russia. The letter referred to ] as a ] and made reference to the medieval ] (the belief that Jews ritually murder Christian children during ] and use their blood to bake matzo). Russian Jewish groups—who have long ago grown accustomed to more modern-day ] accusations of controlling the media, the financial system, etc.—reacted with horror to this intellectual descent into the ] of the ]".


==References==
===Prosecution of Jewish activist Boris Stomakhin===
<references/>
UCSJ president Micah H. Naftalin condemned conviction of journalist ] for ]. He said:
*"This sentence exposes the underlying hypocrisy of the Russian government's half-hearted struggle against extremist groups and hate speech." "This month alone, the ] refused to investigate the distribution of a neo-Nazi hit list containing the names and addresses of human rights activists whom the authors 'sentenced to death,' a publisher of a newspaper in Ulyanovsk who publicly called for the murder of Jews got a suspended sentence, and three youths who broke the jaw and fractured the skull of the Minister of Culture of the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic while screaming racist slogans were sentenced to just six months to a year in prison. You don't have to agree with Mr. Stomakhin's radical, though non-violent, views on Chechnya to see that his sentence was disproportionate and unjust."

===Closing of UCSJ offices===
⚫ A branch of the UCSJ was closed by the ] as part of what many observers saw as a wider crackdown on political ] in the region. (''main article - ]'')


==External links== ==External links==

Revision as of 03:25, 30 March 2007

Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union (abbreviated UCSJ) is a collection of Jewish human rights organizations working in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. They are based in Washington DC, but are linked to other organizations such as the Moscow Helsinki Group and have offices in the countries in where they operate.

The UCSJ was formed in 1970 as a response to the second class citizen status of Jews in the USSR and Eastern Europe. Today, most of its offices are based within the United States where it has 8 member councils, although there are six offices in various locations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including Moscow, Almaty, Bishkek, Lviv, Riga, Tbilisi.

Their activities include reporting on the human rights situations of countries in the FSU, as well as assisting communities in need, providing support for asylum seekers and migrants, exposing human rights violations and hate crimes, whether these are targeted against Jews or other minorities in the region, such as Roma or Muslims. . It receives funding from the European Commission of the European Union as part of a three-year project designed to combat racism, anti-semitism and islamophobia in Eastern European countries and the reports it produces on the situation in various countries are often presented to the US State Department.

Some 525,000 Jews remained in the post-Soviet states in 2003. Almost 450,000 of them live in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova .

A branch of the UCSJ was closed by the government of Belarus as part of what many observers saw as a wider crackdown on political dissent in the region. (main article - Human rights in Belarus)

References

  1. Testimony of Nickolai Butkevich, Research and Advocacy UCSJ Director, in US Congress
  2. Jewish Activist Convicted in Russia, November 20, 2006
  3. Pskov FSB Chief Accuses Protestants of Spying, Wants Citizens to Call With Denunciations, December 29, 2006
  4. Racist Sentiment Rising Even in Remote Areas of Russia, December 28, 2006

External links

Other Jewish organizations in the former Soviet Union

Categories: