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 23:40, 30 December 2006 editHodja Nasreddin (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Pending changes reviewers31,217 edits →See also← Previous edit Revision as of 23:50, 30 December 2006 edit undoHodja Nasreddin (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Pending changes reviewers31,217 editsNo edit summaryNext edit →
Line 3: Line 3:
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 ]. 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 ]).


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. 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 ]. 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. 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 ] .


==Controversies== ==Controversies==
Line 11: Line 14:
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 - ]'')


⚫ ==External links==
⚫ ==Other Jewish organizations in the former Soviet Union==
⚫ *
*

⚫ ===Other Jewish organizations in the former Soviet Union===
*] *]
* *
Line 25: Line 32:
* *


⚫ ==External link==
⚫ *


] ]

Revision as of 23:50, 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.

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

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)

External links

Other Jewish organizations in the former Soviet Union

Categories: