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Euroasian Jewish News
The Ukrainian Union of Jewish Students with support of the international Jewish organizations initiated the first international
13.06.2007
The Ukrainian Union of Jewish Students with support of the international Jewish organizations initiated the first international youth forum on mass-media issues "Fact. Fiction. Propaganda: Old Hate - New Technology".
On May, 25-30 in "President Hotel" in Kyiv about 100 young Jews from more than 20 European and former Soviet countries, as well as specialists and Jewish philanthropists, gathered to discuss the influence of mass-media on the increase of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel tendencies in society.
Unfortunately, in our time xenophobic propaganda editions are becoming more and more popular. Their number increases constantly, their audience enlarges. Surely, the discussions during the Forum were not able to solve all the topical problems, but the Forum became the start point for the open discussion and the warning for the international Jewish community to act promptly.
Competent social activists were the Forum lecturers. Naomi Kramer, the Executive Director of Kleinmann Family Foundation, made a unique presentation, covering history of anti-Jewish propaganda in mass-media. Slobodan Homen, Serbian MP, told in detail about informational wars and the consequences of the propaganda in Serbia. Even nowadays genocides happen. Not long ago, in 1994 in Rwanda tens of thousands of people were massacred because of their ethnicity. Deogratias Mazina, researcher from Lige University, told to the listeners about the crucial role that mass-media played in this tragedy. It was difficult to tell briefly about all the anti-Semitic editions in Ukraine and their influence on the social mood, because Ukraine almost leads in terms of the number of anti-Semitic periodicals. The specialists Anatoly Podolsky, the Director of Holocaust Studies Center, and Viacheslav Likhachev, Expert on anti-Semitism of the Eurasian Jewish Congress, as well as representatives of Ukrainian mass-media Kiril Bulkin, "Svoboda" radio journalist and presenter, Maxim Butkevych, journalist from "1+1" national TV-channel, explained in what way in modern Ukraine, accepting European values of democracy and equity, anti-Jewish propaganda succeeds. Owing to the support of "Pinchuk Art Centre" participants could see the documentary about Holocaust in Ukraine "Spell Your Name".
Mr. Shahar Arieli, the deputy chief of the Israel Mission to Ukraine, Mr. Maxim Sergienko, Attache of the Cultural and Humanitarian Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Mr. Josef Zissels, the Head of the Board of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress and VAAD of Ukraine, Mr. David Benesh, the First Secretary of Israel Embassy to Ukraine, Mr. Chaim Kapelnikov, the Head of "Sohnut-Ukraine", the Senior Rabbi Moshe-Reuven Asman, Mr. Stanley Levin, the deputy chief of "Joint" Committee in Central and Western Ukraine, Mr. Oleg Rostovtsev, the Head of the Press-Service of the Chief Rabbinate of Ukraine, representatives of the Jewish Foundation of Ukraine and many others participated in the grand opening of the Forum.
The participants came from the countries with different level of anti-Semitism and national intolerance. Representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan, where Jewish communities are respected, could hardly understand apprehension of the participants from France, where anti-Semitism is widespread. Historical roots of anti-Semitism might dissolve in the modern society and be not topical, if they were not stired up using mass-media. Various mass media (newspapers, Internet, TV, radio) outdo each other in xenophobic claims and cause new and new reasons for inter-ethnic and inter-confession hate. During the Forum young people studied the essence of propaganda, learned about its forms and influence in different regions and now they are ready to act resolutely to combat xenophobic propaganda in their countries.
It is worth noting that such high-level event has been organized in Ukraine for the first time. The Ukrainian Union of Jewish Students regularly participates in international forums, helping to draw attention of the international Jewish organizations to Kiev and Ukraine as a whole. The Union plans to held international events in Kiev on a regular basis. Popularization of Ukrainian capital will do cause the spiritual renaissance of Jewish Kiev.
NB:
Ukrainian Union of Jewish Students (UUJS) - a pan-Ukrainian, non-governmental organization that unites young Ukrainian Jewish leaders. The UUJS is a member union of the World Union of Jewish Students and European Union of Jewish Students, and cooperates with international and regional organizations. The mission of the organization is to establish and to develop strong youth Jewish community, to lobby and to advocate interests of Jewish diaspora and Israel on the international level. Delegations of UUJS regularly participate in events and sessions of UN an the Council of Europe. Young Union's activists organize educational seminars and international exchanges.
uujs.org
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