Dear Friend,
Due to the holiday, we're sending the NCSEJ Weekly Update on Wednesday, replacing the regular Friday edition.
Earlier this month, a Jewish Holocaust memorial and monument to the victims of Nazism was vandalized in Poltava, Ukraine. During the Nazi occupation of the region, 15,000 Jews were killed there, as well as thousands of other civilians, members of the underground movement, and Soviet prisoners of war. The memorial was vandalized with paint, and with anti-Semitic graffiti alleging that Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has Jewish ancestry.
In a disturbing development, participants of an anti-government rally held on November 22 in Kyiv accused Jews of running Ukraine, and Israel of attempting to colonize the country. Several hundred demonstrators attended the rally. Most of the protesters were from fringe groups unrepresentative of Ukraine's political mainstream. Nevertheless, Ukraine's government and civil society should strongly condemn their hate speech and xenophobia.
Finally, I want to wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving.
Sincerely,
Mark B. Levin
