ACTION ITEM (01/15/95)

ACTION ITEM

On Friday, January 6, The New York Times published a story headlined "Out of Ukraine's Torment, a Jewish Flowering," for which correspondent Jane Perlez interviewed the chief rabbi of Ukraine, Yaakov Bleich.

The article noted: "By any measure, there has been a lively revival of Judaism since Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The Jewish day school in Kiev has grown from 40 students three years ago to 600, and the rabbi says this makes it the largest Jewish school in eastern Europe. There are 11 other Jewish schools across the country. Fifty synagogues are open, compared with 12 in 1990." It goes on to describe the official attitude toward religion in Ukraine, noting that "the government has gone out of its way to emphasize reconciliation with Jews."

The article gives Ukrainians an excellent opportunity to continue the campaign for a retraction by CBS of its defamatory segment titled "The Ugly Face of Freedom."

Ukrainian community members should:

1. Send "60 Minutes" sponsors copies of The New York Times story, contrasting it with the allegations in the CBS program.

2. Send The New York Times letters praising its objective reporting and contrasting the newspaper's treatment of the Jewish life in Ukraine with that of CBS.

3. Send CBS letters with copies of the New York Times article, asking whether the network still stands by its story when this newspaper of record paints a starkly different picture of Ukraine.

- Submitted by the Ukrainian Heritage Defense Committee.

In November, New Jersey State Sen. Peter Inverso (Republican, 14th District) introduced Bill S-1590, and State Assemblyman Joseph Yuhas (Democrat, 15th District) introduced Bill A-2290. Passage of these two bills and signature by Gov. Christine Todd Whitman would grant members of the Ukrainian American Veterans (UAV) organization the privilege of obtaining courtesy license plates for their autos from the N.J. Division of Motor Vehicles.

The courtesy plate would depict the UAV emblem along with the identification "Ukrainian American Veteran" across the bottom of the plate. Passage of this legislation would pave the way for other Ukrainian organizations to secure their own courtesy plates for members.

New Jersey residents are urged to write to their state representatives to seek their support and also ask them to sign on as "co-sponsors" of Senate Bill S-1590 and Assembly Bill A-2290. You may find the names of your district's representatives by calling the NJ State Office of Legislative Services, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., at (800) 792-8630.

Please send copies of any letters sent to: Ukrainian American Veterans, P.O. Box 13, Windsor, NJ 08561.

For more information, you may call the UAV at (609) 394-4824 (George Miziuk), or (201) 762-2827 (Andrew Keybida).

- Submitted by George A. Miziuk, N. J. state commander, UAV.

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