Kharkiv Anti-Semitism Suit Ends
A controversial Kharkiv court case involving accusations of anti-Semitism has been concluded, with the judge deciding in favor of the plaintiff.
The Kharkiv Oblast Chapter of the All-Ukrainian Prosvita Society has been ordered by the court to cease publication of its newspaper, Dzhereltse, and to pay a fine of UAH 22,000 to the Association of National Cultural Unions of Ukraine for moral damages.
The case was brought to the Kyivsky district Kharkiv court in March 2000 on a complaint that an article published in a children’s extracurricular newspaper was anti-Semitic in nature. The article in question, entitled “Seven Jews for Every Layman” was published in the September 1999 issue of Dzhereltse. In the article the author, Khvedom Slobodaniuk, traced the historical relations between Ukrainians and Jews, explaining why Jews were to blame for the misfortunes of the Ukrainian people. For example, he wrote that Jews were guilty of making Ukrainians drink vodka, helping the Bolsheviks take power, as well as for the Great Famine of the 1930s, and argued that today’s politicians in Ukraine, Russia, and the United States are being paid off by Jewish money.
In its decision on 8 December, the court said that the Kharkiv chapter of Prosvita “had used its newspaper Dzhereltse in an unlawful manner, exciting international animosity, Еinfringing on the rights of man and citizen, and the national dignity of Jews” in the article. In a December 12 press conference the Association of National-Cultural Societies of Ukraine (ANKTU) and their legal team emphasized that this was a victory on behalf of all minorities in Ukraine. “This is the first time that punishment for anti-Semitism has been awarded by a court,” said Anna Timoshevska, ANKTU Executive Director. She added that the defense of minority rights and the prosecution of xenophobia, discrimination, and racism are necessary if Ukraine is to be “a civilized country.”
“Prosvita is a respected symbol of national freedom in Ukraine, and we are not against it as an organization. But there are some individuals and actions that discredit its reputation, and we hope Prosvita will support our view of national tolerance,” Timoshevska said. ANKTU, in addition to defending the constitutional rights of the Jewish community, also includes, among others, representatives of Azerbaijani, Korean, Armenian, Roma, Tatar, and German associations, and finances cultural events like festivals, Sunday schools and artistic events.
Initially ANKTU had asked for 1 million hryvnias in damages, but the court has charged the Kharkiv chapter of Prosvita with 20,000, a sum which Timoshevska says will be used to support ANKTU’s charity work with underprivileged Kharkiv children. It is expected that the Kharkiv Oblast Chapter of the All-Ukrainian Prosvita Society will appeal the court’s decision.
