AJC Leader Testifies Before Senate Foreign Relations Committee On Anti-Semitism In Russia

American Jewish Committee
Wednesday, 24 February 1999

The threat of anti-Semitism and Jewish "scapegoating" in Russia's fragile democracy is very real and must be closely monitored, American Jewish Committee Executive Director David A. Harris cautioned today.

Given Russia's record of persecution over hundreds of years, "there is a need to take very seriously manifestations of anti-Semitism in Russia at any time, not least today," Mr. Harris said. "Put most starkly, we ignore the lessons of history at our peril."

Mr. Harris made his comments before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs, which held a hearing this afternoon on "Anti-Semitism in Russia." The AJC was one of only two American Jewish agencies invited to testify. Mr. Harris has an extensive background in Soviet affairs, knowledge of the Russian language, and has devoted much of his professional career to matters affecting the USSR and post-Soviet successor states.

Mr. Harris urged Russia's political, religious and civic leaders to unambiguously denounce anti-Semitism and take necessary steps to relegate anti-Semitism to society's margins.

The Russian Orthodox Church and Russia's educational system could play constructive leadership roles in this effort.

"The Russian Orthodox Church has never undergone the kind of soul searching and moral and historical reckoning regarding its relations with the Jews that the Catholic Church and many Protestant churches, to their credit, have initiated in the second half of this century. Such an undertaking is overdue," said Mr. Harris.

"The Russian educational system surely could do more to promote concepts of tolerance and understanding. Russia today desperately needs to teach its young people the importance, especially for a democratic society, of the genuine equality of all its citizens."

These steps become critical now because "Russia's democratic experiment is not assured of permanence," especially against the backdrop of Russian history, "which lacks any sustained encounter with democracy, the rule of law and civil society," Mr. Harris said.

Mr. Harris stressed that the situation in Russia today is extraordinarily complex. On the one hand, "Jewish life in the post-Communist era is miraculously re-emerging," he said.

On the other hand, "the fear persists that this embryonic democratic experiment could yield -- perhaps even in the upcoming elections -- to a more nationalistic, authoritarian, or Communist regime, whose rallying cry might well include the alleged responsibility of the Jews for Russia's stagnation, loss of empire, or domestic turmoil. In a word scapegoating."

Asserting that anti-Semitism has historically been used in this part of the world as a political weapon, especially during periods of transition and unsettling change, Mr. Harris called for vigilant monitoring and exposure of anti-Semitic incidents and trends in Russia.

"The recent and disturbing anti-Semitic incidents, whether by spokesmen of the extreme right or by the left in the Communist-dominated Duma (Parliament), or, for that matter, outside Moscow -- most notably in provinces like Krasnodar, whose governor, Nikolai Kondratenko, elected in 1996, is an unabashed anti-Semite -- should give us serious pause," he said.

Mr. Harris commended the Senate Foreign Relations Committee members for continuing the longstanding congressional tradition of examining Russian attitudes toward, and treatment of, Jews. But he also expressed dismay that 120 years after the U.S. Congress first acted regarding Russia's mistreatment of Jews, "we gather here once again to examine the condition of hundreds of thousands of Jews residing in Russia who are living in an uncertain environment."

In conclusion, Mr. Harris offered two parallel strategies to insure the well-being of Russia's Jews: the strengthening of democracy and democratic institutions in Russia so that "Jews, indeed all who live in Russia, will be governed by the rule of law, not the rule of whim;" and insuring that Russia's human rights record and commitment to democracy are always central to the American bilateral agenda with Moscow.

The American Jewish Committee, which was founded in response to the pogroms of Jews in Czarist Russia in 1906, maintains regular contact with Jews across the former Soviet Union, organizes regular visits to Russia, meets frequently with high-level Russian officials to discuss issues of concern, and commissions research and polling on conditions affecting Russian Jews.

As part of its ongoing curriculum review project to examine what is taught about Jews, Judaism, and the Holocaust in post-Communist societies, AJC is currently studying the Russian educational system. Studies on Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia have already been issued, with additional studies on Ukraine and Lithuania to be released in the near future.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org