From Central European University– Maria M. Kovacs’ new book is unexpectedly timely. The book, which traces the legal roots of Hungarian anti-Semitism back to quotas imposed in 1920, long before the rise of Nazi Germany, was published on the same day as a Hungarian member of Parliament called for Jewish MPs to be counted. “When […]
A Moscow Response: “Let U.S. Parents Save Russian Orphans”
From The Moscow Times — 18 December 2012 | Issue 5038 By Yulia Latynina In retribution for the recent passage of the Magnitsky Act by the U.S. Congress, United Russia has introduced an initiative to prohibit U.S. citizens from adopting Russian children. Modern Russia not only has more orphans than any other country — 678,000 — but even more than the Soviet Union had during […]
The Rise of Svoboda in Ukraine
Read about the background of Svoboda, Ukraine’s controversial far-right political party that won 10.5% of the final parliamentary vote in the last elections. Page 1 Page 2
Saturday’s Demonstration in Moscow Shows Opposition’s Determination
Last Saturday, December 15th, Russian leaders of the political opposition took part in an unsanctioned demonstration. This protest, which took place in Lubyanka Square near a monument to victims of Soviet political repression, was an act of defiance against a law signed by President Putin in June that fines participants $9,000 and organizations $18,000 for […]
Obama Signs Magnitsky Bill Into Law
Read the UCSJ President’s Message Regarding UCSJ’s work with this bill here. Dec 14 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Friday signed into law a bill that modernizes U.S. trade relations with Russia by ending a Cold War-era provision, but also punishes Russian human rights violators. Russia has objected strongly to the human rights component […]
IRF Roundtable Letter on Declining Religious Freedom Conditions in Kazakhstan
UCSJ, along with other members of the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Roundtable, sent a letter to the UN regarding our concern for declining religious freedom conditions in Kazakhstan. Click the above link to view it, or read an excerpt below: Prof. Dr. Heiner Bielefeldt Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Office of the […]
President’s Message Regarding the Magnitsky Bill
To our friends of the UCSJ, President Obama has signed the Magnitsky bill, which passed in Congress by significant numbers. It is a great victory for human rights and for the UCSJ. Last August, the UCSJ gathered ten human rights groups and many individuals all of whom signed on to a letter to over 150 […]
UCSJ’s Work in Ukraine: Preserving Jewish Culture
Foreword to the presentation of UCSJ’s work to preserve Jewish Heritage in Ukraine. The vibrant Jewish culture and the spiritual life of the Ukrainian Jewish community in Lviv, Ukraine, much like elsewhere in the former Soviet Union, had been ruthlessly suppressed by the Nazi and Communist totalitarian dictatorships for many years. At present, there are only […]
An Oral History of the Rally to Save Soviet Jewry
Tablet Magazine How We Freed Soviet Jewry Twenty-five years ago today, a rally of 250,000 people changed the fate of Jews worldwide. An oral history. By Allison Hoffman Originally published December 6, 2012. (American Jewish Historical Society) Twenty-five years ago today, an estimated quarter of a million Americans, most of them Jews, flooded the Mall […]
Anti-Semitic March in Kharkov, Ukraine
The following description of an anti-Semitic march that took place in Kharkov (the second largest city in Ukraine) is a translation of an article originally posted in Russian. The original can be accessed here. During the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary elections, the nationalistic party “Svoboda” (Freedom) organized a rally. It was announced to be a protest […]