Petr
01-27-2006, 02:28 PM
Can you imagine Western parliamentarians showing such spine?
http://www.ucsj.com/stories/012306Russia.shtml
State Duma Members Who Signed Antisemitic Letter Refuse to Back Down in Wake of Synagogue Rampage
(January 23, 2006)
The attack on worshipers inside Moscow's Bolshaya Bronnaya synagogue has focused new attention on the widespread publication of antisemitic literature, which helped inspire it. Thanks to a State Duma deputy from the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, the media spotlight is now turning to politicians from the Motherland and Communist parties, whose regular incitement of hatred against Jews has so far taken place with impunity.
On January 13, United Russia Deputy Andrei Isaev took the Duma floor and demanded that the Communist Party and Rodina answer for deputies who signed an open letter calling for the closing of all Jewish organizations in Russia last January, Interfax reported. The letter, among other antisemitic accusations, made reference to the medieval blood libel and termed Judaism a “Satanic” religion.
Mr. Isaev called on Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov and Motherland leader Dmitry Rogozin to brief the Duma on what measures they had taken against the signatories from their parties. He said the deputies who signed the letter should be expelled or otherwise disciplined.
However, it seems that many of the Duma members in question are not inclined to back down, even in the face of the blood shed in the synagogue. The January 20, 2006 issue of the weekly newspaper Moskovskie Novosti printed a response from Motherland deputy Aleksandr Krutov-the former host of an antisemitic television show called Russian House who is reputed to be the main author of the antisemitic letter. Mr. Krutov began his statement by expressing “sympathy with the victims” of the synagogue rampage, but wasted no time in echoing his party colleague Sergey Baburin, who earlier this week termed media reporting on the obviously antisemitic motives behind the attack “Russophobic.” Without saying so explicitly, Mr. Krutov warned the media and the Russian Jewish leadership not to “use” the “incident on Bronnaya Street” to “incite Russophobic and anti-patriotic hysteria” or they would face “active resistance.” Repeating Chief Rabbi Beryl Lazar's contention that Russia is faced with a “brown plague” of neo-fascism, Mr. Krutov countered that Nazi ideas and xenophobia had nothing to do with the attack, which was instead motivated by society's “spiritual sickness.”
He criticized the media for blaming “Russian patriotic organizations” for the synagogue attack and similar acts of violence, then tried to change to subject to Jewish extremists such as Baruch Goldshtein, who murdered several Palestinians outside a mosque. Bringing up the antisemites' favorite bogeyman-Zionism-Mr. Krutov asked: “What ideology drove him [to kill the Palestinians]?”
“Why in our multi-ethnic country do we talk about antisemitism, but not about Islamophobia, Russophobia or Tajikophobia?” Mr. Krutov asked, despite the fact that attacks on Muslims and Central Asian migrant workers are routinely reported, and condemned, by much of the Russian media. He then called for the introduction of a course entitled “Foundations of Orthodox Culture” in Russian schools as a way to promote “spiritual recovery.” The fact that the textbook for that course contained several antisemitic references may not be coincidental to Mr. Krutov's support.
Mr. Krutov's colleagues from Motherland who also signed the letter were no less adamant in their refusal to apologize. A January 19, 2006 report by the Regnum news agency recorded several of their reactions to Mr. Isaev's speech. Andrey Savelev, Nikolai Pavlov, Sergey Glotov, Sergey Grigoriev, and Anatoly Greshnevikov all asserted that signing the letter was the right thing to do. Mr. Grigoriev claimed that there were many unresolved issues between Russians and Jews that needed to be sorted out “accurately and cautiously with the understanding of the other side in mind.” These moderate sounding words did not match the tone of the letter, however, since it's hard to think that anyone accused of worshiping Satan would respond well to Mr. Grigoriev's putative plea for inter-faith respect and understanding.
Mr. Pavlov took it one step further and called for another open letter to the prosecutor's office to demand a criminal investigation of a Jewish textbook that the signers believe incites ethnic hatred. Mr. Glotov asserted that he was simply taking a stand against “extremist organizations” when he signed the letter, which called for Jewish organizations to be investigated.
As for the Communists who signed the letter, some of whom have long histories of antisemitic rhetoric, UCSJ was unable to find any media references to their reactions to Mr. Isaev's speech.
http://www.ucsj.com/stories/012306Russia.shtml
State Duma Members Who Signed Antisemitic Letter Refuse to Back Down in Wake of Synagogue Rampage
(January 23, 2006)
The attack on worshipers inside Moscow's Bolshaya Bronnaya synagogue has focused new attention on the widespread publication of antisemitic literature, which helped inspire it. Thanks to a State Duma deputy from the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, the media spotlight is now turning to politicians from the Motherland and Communist parties, whose regular incitement of hatred against Jews has so far taken place with impunity.
On January 13, United Russia Deputy Andrei Isaev took the Duma floor and demanded that the Communist Party and Rodina answer for deputies who signed an open letter calling for the closing of all Jewish organizations in Russia last January, Interfax reported. The letter, among other antisemitic accusations, made reference to the medieval blood libel and termed Judaism a “Satanic” religion.
Mr. Isaev called on Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov and Motherland leader Dmitry Rogozin to brief the Duma on what measures they had taken against the signatories from their parties. He said the deputies who signed the letter should be expelled or otherwise disciplined.
However, it seems that many of the Duma members in question are not inclined to back down, even in the face of the blood shed in the synagogue. The January 20, 2006 issue of the weekly newspaper Moskovskie Novosti printed a response from Motherland deputy Aleksandr Krutov-the former host of an antisemitic television show called Russian House who is reputed to be the main author of the antisemitic letter. Mr. Krutov began his statement by expressing “sympathy with the victims” of the synagogue rampage, but wasted no time in echoing his party colleague Sergey Baburin, who earlier this week termed media reporting on the obviously antisemitic motives behind the attack “Russophobic.” Without saying so explicitly, Mr. Krutov warned the media and the Russian Jewish leadership not to “use” the “incident on Bronnaya Street” to “incite Russophobic and anti-patriotic hysteria” or they would face “active resistance.” Repeating Chief Rabbi Beryl Lazar's contention that Russia is faced with a “brown plague” of neo-fascism, Mr. Krutov countered that Nazi ideas and xenophobia had nothing to do with the attack, which was instead motivated by society's “spiritual sickness.”
He criticized the media for blaming “Russian patriotic organizations” for the synagogue attack and similar acts of violence, then tried to change to subject to Jewish extremists such as Baruch Goldshtein, who murdered several Palestinians outside a mosque. Bringing up the antisemites' favorite bogeyman-Zionism-Mr. Krutov asked: “What ideology drove him [to kill the Palestinians]?”
“Why in our multi-ethnic country do we talk about antisemitism, but not about Islamophobia, Russophobia or Tajikophobia?” Mr. Krutov asked, despite the fact that attacks on Muslims and Central Asian migrant workers are routinely reported, and condemned, by much of the Russian media. He then called for the introduction of a course entitled “Foundations of Orthodox Culture” in Russian schools as a way to promote “spiritual recovery.” The fact that the textbook for that course contained several antisemitic references may not be coincidental to Mr. Krutov's support.
Mr. Krutov's colleagues from Motherland who also signed the letter were no less adamant in their refusal to apologize. A January 19, 2006 report by the Regnum news agency recorded several of their reactions to Mr. Isaev's speech. Andrey Savelev, Nikolai Pavlov, Sergey Glotov, Sergey Grigoriev, and Anatoly Greshnevikov all asserted that signing the letter was the right thing to do. Mr. Grigoriev claimed that there were many unresolved issues between Russians and Jews that needed to be sorted out “accurately and cautiously with the understanding of the other side in mind.” These moderate sounding words did not match the tone of the letter, however, since it's hard to think that anyone accused of worshiping Satan would respond well to Mr. Grigoriev's putative plea for inter-faith respect and understanding.
Mr. Pavlov took it one step further and called for another open letter to the prosecutor's office to demand a criminal investigation of a Jewish textbook that the signers believe incites ethnic hatred. Mr. Glotov asserted that he was simply taking a stand against “extremist organizations” when he signed the letter, which called for Jewish organizations to be investigated.
As for the Communists who signed the letter, some of whom have long histories of antisemitic rhetoric, UCSJ was unable to find any media references to their reactions to Mr. Isaev's speech.