On the 7th of July, the visit of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) delegation, headed by Executive Director David Harris, to Ukraine continued.
Besides meetings with leaders of Jewish organizations, the American guests held negotiations with important representatives of the Ukrainian political elite, both in power and in the opposition. In particular, the AJC delegations negotiated with representatives of the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers, headed by the acting Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and Vice Prime Minister Andrey Klyuev, visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where the guests spoke to Deputy Minister Alexander Gorin and other diplomats, and the Presidential Administration.
The AJC leaders also met with the leaders of the political opposition to the current administration – Victor Yuschenko and Yulia Timoshenko.
Two topics were discussed first and foremost in all negotiations. The question that interested the guests most was the Ukrainian foreign policy course to support Israel, which had been clearly taken by Ukraine last year during the votes in international organizations, primarily in the UN. The AJC delegation wished to know whether this foreign policy vecor would remain with the new Ukrainian administration.
The second topic that worried representatives of American Jewry was the restitution of Jewish community property that was illegally confiscated during Soviet rule and the Holocaust. The process of restitution of Jewish property has been commencing all over Eastern Europe – and is already over in some parts of it – except the former Soviet Union. The leadership of the AJC desired to know whether the Ukrainian political elite sees a possibility to commence restitution at least partially in the foreseeable future, and whether the elite realizes its necessity. Unfortunately, the delegation did not receive as clear a positive answer for this question as it did for the first.
The entire visit of the AJC leadership was organized by the Kyiv office of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC). The Chairman of the EAJC General Council Josef Zisels accompanied the AJC delegation on all visit. Alexander Feldman, Ukrainian Jewish Committee president, was also present at the negotiations with Mykola Azarov.