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| 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 - ]'') | 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 - ]'') | ||
| ==Other Jewish organizations in the former Soviet Union== | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| *] | *] | ||
| * | |||
| *The Congress of Jewish Religious Communities of Russia (KEROOR) headed by Adolf Shaievich | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| *Vaad (Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Russia) | |||
| *Moscow Jewish Community | |||
| *Jewish Association of St. Petersburg (JASP). | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| ==External link== | ==External link== | ||
Revision as of 23:40, 30 December 2006
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 seven offices in various locations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including Moscow, Almaty, Bishkek, Lviv, Riga, Tbilisi and Minsk (although this was closed in 2005).
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.
Controversies
Nineteen members of the State Duma from Motherland and the Communist party have signed a letter demanding Jewish groups be banned in Russia. 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 State Duma from Motherland and the Communist party signed an open letter to the Prosecutor General’s office demanding that Jewish groups be banned in Russia. The letter referred to Judaism as a “Satanic” religion and made reference to the medieval Blood Libel (the belief that Jews ritually murder Christian children during Passover and use their blood to bake matzo). Russian Jewish groups—who have long ago grown accustomed to more modern-day antisemitic accusations of controlling the media, the financial system, etc.—reacted with horror to this intellectual descent into the barbarism of the Dark Ages."
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)
Other Jewish organizations in the former Soviet Union
- Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS
- Russian Jewish Congress (REK)
- The Congress of Jewish Religious Communities of Russia (KEROOR) headed by Adolf Shaievich
- The World Congress of Russian Jewry
- Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FEOR)
- Vaad (Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Russia)
- Moscow Jewish Community
- Jewish Association of St. Petersburg (JASP).
- Chabad Lubavitch movement
- Jewish University in Moscow
- Petersburg Institute for Jewish Studies
- Foundation for Jewish Campus Life (Hillel)