LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (10/03/99)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Re: the UCSJ's monitoring activities

Dear Editor:

Dr. Leonid Stonov, director of the International Human Rights Bureaus in the FSU (former Soviet Union), Union of Councils for Soviet Jews (UCSJ), in his letter to The Weekly (July 25) describes and explains his organization's current activities. These are the operation of "eight human rights and rule of law bureaus" in the former Soviet Union whose self-appointed task is to "monitor" human rights and inter-ethnic relations. One such UCSJ bureau is in Lviv.

After pointing out that even though much has improved for Jews in Ukraine since the end of the Soviet period, he reminds readers that Ukraine still has a long way to go before it compares to non-former Soviet countries. He then concludes by stating that "UCSJ sees its work reporting on anti-Semitism and other human rights abuses in Ukraine as an effort to contribute to Ukraine's future as a democratic state ..."

As one of my sons might say in a somewhat different context, "What's wrong with this picture?" Let me suggest what comes to mind.

There happens to exist a very significant problem in the Jewish community both in the United States and in Ukraine: that problem is a poisonous and atavistic anti-Ukrainianism. It is a problem that, for example, helped cause Jewish American journalists from the television program "60 Minutes" to travel to Ukraine and produce a segment aired in October 1994 before tens of millions in North America that grotesquely distorted Ukraine's present and past.

That segment, among numerous errors, mistranslated the Ukrainian word for Jew, which is "zhid," into "kike"; misdescribed Ukrainian scouts on their way to church services as purported Hitler youth; and described Ukrainians as ignorant and superstitious peasants.

The attitudes of Lviv's Jews seem not to be much more enlightened. As one of the producers of "60 Minutes" told a group of Ukrainian leaders last February, it was Jews in Lviv who told "60 Minutes" that Ukrainians are "genetically anti-Semitic." And this is the same city where the UCJS is "monitoring" inter-groups relations!

If the UCJS is really serious about monitoring human rights, might it not make more sense for it to spend at least as much time monitoring Jewish anti-Ukrainianism as it does purported Ukrainian anti-Semitism? Actually, the former appears much, much easier to find and seems much more intransigent.

Note that the "60 Minutes" crew to this day stands by all of its misrepresentations and calumnies and avers it did nothing wrong. Since Dr. Stonov is in the business of promoting inter-ethnic relations, shouldn't he be telling the readers of The Weekly what kinds of ideas he is developing to begin to combat Jewish anti-Ukrainianism?

Perhaps to help explain or justify why his group maintains its "monitoring" activities in Ukraine, Dr. Stonov claims that "Throughout its history the UCJS has supported Ukrainian rights activists and struggled against the Soviet authorities on behalf of Lukianenko, Chornovil, Khmara, Stus, Plyushch, Marchenko and many other dissidents." Although I do not pretend to know what the UCJS has or has not done throughout its history, Dr. Stonov's claims in a number of important respects do not square with my own recollections on this subject.

In the 1970s, I was a member and for several years the president of the Committee for the Defense of Soviet Political Prisoners. Most of us were Ukrainian American students. We defended Ukrainian prisoners of conscience, of whom there were many, and Jews, and Tatars, and Russians, etc. With one or two exceptions, Jewish groups who defended Jewish refuseniks and dissidents guarded their access to the spotlight and to the media very, very jealously and cared only about the plight of Soviet Jews.

In the end, and even as late as the 1980s, Ukrainian prisoners of conscience Stus, Marchenko, Tykhy and Lytvyn died in the gulag - Stus as recently as 1985. Natan Sharansky, on the other hand, is a member of Israel's Parliament. Indeed, I am not aware of any Jewish prisoners of conscience having perished in the gulag at the same time at which the above four Ukrainians were dying there.

I applaud and admire what the American Jewish community did for Mr. Sharansky and all of the other refuseniks, and I genuinely wish Mr. Sharansky and the others a hundred years of health and happiness. But it is disingenuous to claim, as Dr. Stonov does today, that Jewish groups were on the barricades for Ukrainian human rights activists. When they most desperately needed help and attention, the Ukrainians were orphans.

Perhaps if American Jewish groups defending Soviet Jewish rights had been a little less parochial, and perhaps if there were not so much anti-Ukrainian prejudice in the Jewish community, a contribution could have been made to help save at least some of those Ukrainian human rights martyrs who died very, very recently.

And, perhaps the presence in Lviv of a Jewish bureau to "monitor" human rights and the rule of law would not seem to be such an anomaly.

Dr. Bohdan Vitvitsky
Summit, N.J.

Ukraine should declare itself haven

Dear Editor:

Ukrainians are overjoyed with the eighth anniversary of freedom and democracy in the land of our ancestry. We also ponder the problems of this new country and how to help her enter the new century as a proud and productive member of the human community. Your August 22 issue mentions the re-wakening of anti-Semitism in Russia. There may be linkage here which could help two peoples - Ukrainians being one of them.

Ukraine has the resources and the talented, educated peoples to make it a "player" among the nations of the world. However, we all know it needs trade with other nations and people willing to spend the time and effort to teach Ukrainians how to make this newly independent nation flourish. Ukraine could achieve this by openly declaring itself a sanctuary for the Jews of Eastern Europe. Both Jews and Ukrainians would benefit from a declaration of sanctuary.

This action would foster support and promote Ukrainian interests/trade in many parts of the world, especially those areas which had a large Jewish community. Although the United States is an open supporter of Ukraine today, I believe American support would increase when our government saw this development. Ukraine would also get the benefit of the educated and talented Jewish people of Russia. These Jews would have a personal and patriotic reason to see Ukraine flourish and succeed. The stronger and more successful Ukraine got, the better would be a sanctuary. It becomes a win-win situation for both peoples and could usher in a new era of development and growth for the Ukrainian economy and its world standing.

There are many who might hesitate at declaring Ukraine a sanctuary for European Jewry, but consider the total situation and Ukraine's needs. This declaration, followed by positive activity towards European Jewry could do nothing but improve Ukraine's situation - both immediate and long-term.

Steve Olek
Riverside, Calif.

Why publish letters like Michael Step's?

Dear Editor:

The Ukrainian Weekly (September 19) published a letter from a Michael Step who praised the views of Natalia Vitrenko regarding the integration of Ukraine with Eurasian and East European states. The letter writer said he believes Ms. Vitrenko will defend the interests of Ukraine's workers and farmers because her vision goes beyond the framework of narrow nationalism.

Who Ms. Vitrenko is, we all know. And this person who defends her is not far removed from her views.

As a subscriber to The Ukrainian Weekly, I ask the esteemed editors to not print such items. Or, if you do, please include a brief commentary at the bottom indicating that these views are not shared by The Ukrainian Weekly.

Alexander Dombrowsky
Jamaica, N.Y.

The letter-writer, a historian, is general secretary of the Ukrainian Historical Association and a member of the Shevchenko Scientific Society and the Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Editor's note: The Ukrainian Weekly welcomes letters to the editor and commentaries on a variety of topics of concern to the Ukrainian American and Ukrainian Canadian communities. Opinions expressed by columnists, commentators and letter-writers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of either The Weekly editorial staff or its publisher, the Ukrainian National Association.

Missing medal is being sought

Dear Editor:

The Victoria Cross of Filip Konowal is missing from the collections of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. Efforts are now being made by the Ukrainian Canadian community to recover this medal so that it can be publicly displayed. Anyone knowing of the whereabouts of Konowal's Victoria Cross is invited to contact this writer at 22 Gretna Green, Kingston, Ontario, K7M 3J2; telephone, (613) 546-8364; e-mail, luciuk-l@rmc.ca.

Lubomyr Luciuk
Kingston, Ontario

U.S. News report was case of déjà vu

Dear Editor:

A belated thank you for your editorial in the August 15 issue. You addressed the U.S. News & World Report issue that dealt with the first millennium, and that presented Kyivan-Rus' and Prince Volodymyr as Russian. Hopefully, many of your readers reacted to this travesty.

However, this issue is a chronic problem and will continue to be so as long as history texts present Kyivan-Rus and Prince Vladimir as ancient Russian history. This is again illustrated by the recent publication of "The Russian Chronicles: A Thousand Years that Changed the World, from the Beginnings of the Land of Rus' to the October Revolution," by Joseph Ryan, published by BHB International. The same tale is spun of Kyivan Rus' as the progenitor of the Russian state.

This is beginning to feel like déjà vu, harkening back to the "Millennium wars" of 1988 between Ukrainians and Russians with Ukrainians apparently winning the battle of the day, but not the war. Time has passed and the term "Kievan Rus,' " implying Kievan Russia, keeps resurfacing constantly.

The time has come for the Ukrainian academic community to wage a definitive campaign to change this by targeting all the history books being used in American schools to prevent the next generation of American professionals from being educated in this manner. If this is not done, then Ukraine's identity and its very existence as an independent state may eventually be compromised.

Linda Steyden
Bethesda, Md.

Editorial brought back fond memories

Dear Editor:

I must commend you on the August 1 editorial. It moved me to reminisce for hours. Stephen Shumeyko and I were friends. We were of one mind on the subject of Ukraine, its culture, history, enemies, etc. We organized or rather brought together choruses from New Jersey and New York.

I was a resident at the YWCA International Institute on 17th Street in New York. A young Ukrainian girls' club met at the Ukrainian Civic Center (UCC) and Mary Ann Bodnar Herman (another dear friend) was the leader. We held Ukrainian luncheons, fashion shows, arts and crafts exhibits, folk dancing, lectures, etc. This YWCA encouraged the sharing of cultures of the many ethnic clubs meeting there. The UCC sponsored an annual formal dance to encourage Ukrainian young men and women to meet.

Not only were we proud of our Ukrainian heritage, we appreciated it. We weren't rich but those were great years!

Mary Andreyko
Kingston, N.Y.

The Ukrainian Weekly welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be typed (double-spaced) and signed; they must be originals, not photocopies.

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