DOCSLIB.ORG

NCSEJ WEEKLY NEWS BRIEF Washington, DC March 24, 2017 Ukraine Is Governed By

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

NCSEJ WEEKLY NEWS BRIEF Washington, D.C. March 24, 2017 Ukraine is governed by "people with non-Ukrainian blood", says Savchenko LB.ua, March 21, 2017 https://en.lb.ua/news/2017/03/21/3385_ukraine_governed_people.html People's deputy Nadiya Savchenko says Ukraine is governed people with "non-Ukrainian blood." During an appearance on NewsOne TV channel on Tuesday, 21 March, Savchenko answered a telephone question from a woman from Krivyy Rih. "Nadya, why does not anyone say what people say? I stood at a bus stop and heard an old woman saying what has been written in the Bible: there was a Tatar-Mongol yoke, there was a Polish yoke for Ukraine, and now its Jewish yoke. Why do you keep mum about it?" the viewer asked. Savchenko replied: "Yes, thank you, a good question. If the people are talking about this, it must be the truth. And yes, we have the people at the power with, let's say, non-Ukrainian blood. We can talk about that, we should think and act!" Boryslav Bereza reaction on Savchenko’s interview MP of Jewish origin Borislav Bereza commented on the statement by his colleague on the parliament Nadezhda Savchenko that Ukrainian authorities have "non-Ukrainian blood". He wrote about this on his Facebook page. "I found the information about the anti-Semitic statement of Savchenko in Paris at a meeting with French parliamentarians. A journalist from Ukraine called me and asked to comment on the situation. After my comments french politics asked me what I was talking about, they were interested in my facial expressions and intonations. I showed them a video and told what the MP of Ukraine, a former member of the PACE delegation, Nadezhda Savchenko said. "Then the only their phrase was:" For such a statement the French MP would be discarded in the shortest time, regardless of his merits before the Republic." "It's all you need to know about an adequate reaction to such demarches." After all her antics, from statements to joint pastime with the pro-Russian separatists and the lack of reaction from the state, I doubt that something will happen. "Savchenko provocateur. Or did it by stupidity, but it works against Ukraine. This topic is closed, the page is turned in. Now we can wait for the reaction from the regulatory committee or the GPU, but the time will show everything. But I want to recall the name of the famous etching by Francisco Goya "The dream of the mind generates Monsters. "If you do not react, then the monster will devour those who try not to notice it," - said Bereza. Rabbi Lazar urges to legalize circumcision in Russia Interfax-Religion, March 23, 2017 http://interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=13656 Chief rabbi of Russia Berel Lazar speaks for legalizing the procedure of circumcision in the country. "I believe it is extremely important to consolidate efforts on legalizing this procedure. Any bans in this field will lead to appearance of underground doctors that will not bear any responsibility for their actions," Lazar said at his meeting with the head of the State Duma Committee on developing civil society, questions of public and religious associations Sergey Gavrilov in the Jewish Museum and Center of Tolerance in Moscow. According to the rabbi, if there is a clear and comprehensive mechanism of control in this sphere from the side of religious organizations and authorities, "it will settle many questions." Lazar reported that the Jewish community had worked out a draft document on legalizing circumcision. Russian Jewish Congress, Footballers' Union Unveil Anti-Racism Project Sputnik, March 21, 2017 https://sputniknews.com/politics/201703211051816968-anti-racism-project/ Russian footballer's trade union head Roman Shirokov and Russian Jewish Congress President Yury Kanner signed a cooperation memorandum to implement the project in the presence of the Russian Football Union's anti-racism and anti-discrimination inspector, Alexei Smertin, according to the statement. "Today, on March 21, on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination established by the UN General Assembly, the #WeareRussia#Against Discrimination national project was launched to tackle racism, xenophobia, antisemitism and other forms of discrimination in Russian football," Russian Jewish organization said in a statement. The project involves conducting sociological research, training experts to deal with ethnic tensions in sports, producing guides and education programs for schools and universities, monitoring xenophobia in sports, working with fans, holding educational events and making documentaries, the statement added. The project will run at least until next year, when Russia is due to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Russia is also hosting the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup this summer. Russia's Federation of Jewish Communities Calls for Return of Synagogues Soviets Seized By Paul Goble Window on Eurasia, March 21, 2017 http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2017/03/russias-federation-of-jewish.html Following the path the Russian Orthodox Church and Russia’s Muslim groups have already entered, Russia’s Jewish community is demanding that the Russian authorities restore to them synagogues that the Soviet state seized from them, a call that is already provoking a negative reaction by some Russians. Citing the Russian law on the restoration of religious property to its rightful owners, Aleksandr Boroda, the president of FEOR, says that his community “unqualifiedly supports” the provisions of that legislation and wants to see Russian officials, especially at the regional level, respond to its call “more actively” (apn- spb.ru/opinions/article25633.htm). At present, he continues, “historic synagogue buildings in Kaluga and Rybninsk” have been returned and “negotiations are taking place in a number of other cities.” Unfortunately, he suggests, this is “a quite complicated and slow process,” despite the clear intention of the Russian law on this point. The return of synagogues to the Jewish community may be even more important than the return of churches to the Russian Orthodox or mosques to the Muslims, he suggests, because “before 1917, Jewish communities were subjected to various limitations and simply couldn’t physically ‘acquire’ significant property.” That has provoked an angry response by the Russian nationalist APN-St. Petersburg portal which declares that “Boroda doesn’t know the history of his own people. In 1917,” it says, in just the five largest cities of the Russian Empire on the territory of present-day Belarus, there were 231 synagogues. In Minsk alone, the 67,000 Jews could pray in 83 synagogues.” “The Jewish diaspora of present-day Russia,” the portal continues, “numbers fewer than 200,000, of whom more than 50,000 live in Moscow where there are five synagogues” open. “But in contrast to 1917,” APN-St. Petersburg says, “the overwhelming majority of them are non-believers, Christians or agnostics.” “For the rest,” the site says, “there are quite enough” to satisfy demand. Clearly, the Jews of Russia are simply following the “infectious” demands of the Russian Orthodox Church for restitution even though the ROC has far more justified claims given how many more Orthodox Christians there are in the country. The APN-St. Petersburg report is likely to be the openly salvo of a new attack on any religious group other than the ROC which seeks restitution, but the fact that FEOR is seeking the return of Jewish property means that this segment of the war of monuments is likely to heat up still further in the coming months. Russia summons Israeli envoy following IDF strikes in Syria JTA, March 17, 2017 http://www.jta.org/2017/03/17/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/russia-summons-israeli-envoy-following- idf-strikes-in-syria Russia summoned its ambassador to Israel for clarifications following Israeli airstrikes in Syria. Russia, which backs Syria’s embattled president, Bashar Assad, summoned its envoy, Gary Koren, on Friday less than 24 hours after the Israeli military action on Thursday night, according to The Times of Israel. In a rare statement, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed to having carried out aerial strikes in Syria and intercepted missiles launched at its aircraft from the ground. No Israelis were hurt during the strikes Thursday night or from the anti-aircraft fire, according to a statement by the IDF spokesman. Israel is believed to have carried out several attacks on Syrian soil in recent years, but usually refrains from confirming or denying reports on its alleged actions there. According to the nrg news site, the strikes were against targets affiliated with Hezbollah, possibly on a weapons shipment to the Shiite terrorist group, which is based in Lebanon but is fighting in Syria alongside Assad’s forces against rebels and Sunni militants. Israeli “aircrafts targeted several targets in Syria. Several anti-aircraft missiles were launched from Syria following the mission and IDF Aerial Defense Systems intercepted one of the missiles. At no point was the safety of Israeli civilians or the IAF aircraft compromised,” the IDF spokesman wrote. The missiles were launched at the airplanes minutes after they had left Syrian airspace, according to nrg. Debris from the missiles, which were intercepted by the Arrow defense system over Jordan, landed on residential homes in the west of that country near Inba and Irbid. The Syrian media reported that the country’s Defense Ministry claimed that one Israeli plane was downed and another was damaged from anti-aircraft fire. A ministry statement also vowed “a harsh response against the Zionist regime by all means available.” Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Russia’s contribution to the fight against the Islamic State and al-Qaida during a one-day visit to Moscow. Russia must limit Iranian power in Syria: Israeli intelligence director By Luke Baker Reuters, March 21, 2017 http://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-syria-iran-idUSKBN16S1IA Russia and other world powers must move to limit Iran's growing military strength in Syria because it poses a regional threat, the director-general of Israel's Intelligence Ministry told Reuters in an interview.
Recommended publications
  • Words, Wickedness, and Charlottesville

    Words, Wickedness, and Charlottesville

    The World of Lubavitch A publication of Chabad-Lubavitch, Toronto SEPTEMBER 2017 Vol. 43 No. 2 (148) TISHREI 5778 Words, Wickedness, and Charlottesville By Shlomo Yaffe In classic Judaic philosophy, worldly existence is divided into four strata: The inanimate, the growing (vegetative), the liv- ing (animal life) and the speaking (human). It seems curious that we do not describe the human as “thinker” or “engineer” or by any other quality that humans exclusively possess. The answer seems to be that the true potential of humanity, for good or evil, lies in the capacity for speech. The individual human can accomplish but little. All the accomplishments and disasters wrought by humanity are by virtue of communication. The accomplishment of the first farmer or shepherd lay in inspir- ing a group of people to work together to create nutrition and raiment in a new way that one person thought of. This was through words, through communication. All of hu- man power has always been an expression of a plurality united and directed by words. Abraham and Sarah taught monotheis- tic decency by words. Pharaoh enslaved the people of Israel by words of fear and prejudice directed at the Egyptians. Beliefs promulgated by words held peoples in the thrall of autocracy, and beliefs expressed in words convinced yet others to throw off those chains. The fate of the Armenians in 1915-17 was woven of words— in hate-filled sermons and telegraphed instructions. The power of Hitler was in his words that convinced German people to join together in utter evil. It was words over radio that set in mo- tion the Rwandan massacre.
  • St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow

    St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow

    St. Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION resident Vladimir Putin’s Russia has directly affects the status of religious freedom, merits P steadily retreated from democratic reform, endanger- particularly close scrutiny. Equally important, Russia is a 41 ing significant gains in human rights made since the end of model and bellwether for a wide swath of countries in tran- the Soviet era, including in the areas of freedom of religion sition, particularly in the former Soviet Union; negative hu- or belief. Evidence of the backsliding includes increasing man rights developments in Russia, such as newly restric- limitation of media freedom and of political parties’ inde- tive laws or criticism of human rights standards and moni- pendence; tighter restrictions on non-governmental orga- toring by international organizations, soon emerge in some nizations (NGOs), religious communities, and other civil society groups; harassment of human rights organizations; legal restrictions on freedom of assembly; and constraints on the use of popular referenda. The deterioration in the n the surface, Russian citizens human rights climate over the past few years appears to O be a direct consequence of the increasingly authoritarian have considerable personal freedom and stance of the Russian government, as well as the growing some opportunities for public political influence of chauvinistic groups in Russian society, which seem to be tolerated by the government. debate, although these opportunities The past year saw a further retreat from democracy. In are increasingly limited by the threat January 2006, Putin signed into law restrictive new legislation or use of coercion. In many areas of on NGOs that also affects the rights of religious communities.
  • Russia Supports the Taliban

    Russia Supports the Taliban

    6 10 11 CORRUPTION, THE CREEPING AN ASSASSINATION A WITNESS, AND MURDER ANNEXETION IN KIEV IN A PRISON CELL THE RUSSIAN CARD IN RUSSIA SUPPORTS THE MOLDAVIAN GAME THE TALIBAN GENERAL SECHIN RETURNS AN ASSASSINATION TO THE LUBYANKA IN KIEV THE RUSSIANS CORRUPTION, A WITNESS, RETURNED TO LIBYA AND MURDER IN A PRISON CELL THE CREEPING MINOR CUTS ANNEXATION IN DEFENSE SPENDING PUTIN’S INCREASINGLY GRU CONSPIRACY POWERFUL PRAETORIANS IN MONTENEGRO www.warsawinstitute.org 2 © EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV PAP/EPA 13 March 2017 THE RUSSIAN CARD IN THE MOLDAVIAN GAME Igor Dodon will make a visit to Russia from March 16-18. This is the second trip to Moscow for the Moldovan president in two months. Dodon and the Socialist Party backing him, have already gained the support of Russia, which might decide the victory of the Socialists in the parliamentary elections in 2018. During his second stay in Moscow, Dodon intends to emphasize his pro-Russian attitude, which will be all the more conspicuous given that official relations between Russia and Moldova have become seriously tense. n March 9, Andrian Candu, the Chair- ignored this appeal). The repressive measures Oman of the Moldovan Parliament asso- against Moldovans may be in retaliation for an ciated with the pro-European majority, said investigation by authorities in Chisinau into that in recent months, Russian intelligence Russian money laundering in Moldovan banks officers treated 25 Moldovan – it concerns tens of millions of dollars and deputies, officers and pro-Western politicians high Russian officials who were involved in “in a degrading manner”. Moldovans were dealings.
  • Communism's Jewish Question

    Communism's Jewish Question

    Communism’s Jewish Question Europäisch-jüdische Studien Editionen European-Jewish Studies Editions Edited by the Moses Mendelssohn Center for European-Jewish Studies, Potsdam, in cooperation with the Center for Jewish Studies Berlin-Brandenburg Editorial Manager: Werner Treß Volume 3 Communism’s Jewish Question Jewish Issues in Communist Archives Edited and introduced by András Kovács An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libra- ries working with Knowledge Unlatched. KU is a collaborative initiative designed to make high quality books Open Access. More information about the initiative can be found at www.knowledgeunlatched.org This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License, as of February 23, 2017. For details go to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. ISBN 978-3-11-041152-2 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-041159-1 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-041163-8 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Cover illustration: Presidium, Israelite National Assembly on February 20-21, 1950, Budapest (pho- tographer unknown), Archive “Az Izraelita Országos Gyűlés fényképalbuma” Typesetting:
  • MODERN ANTISEMITISM in the VISEGRÁD COUNTRIES Edited By: Ildikó Barna and Anikó Félix

    MODERN ANTISEMITISM in the VISEGRÁD COUNTRIES Edited By: Ildikó Barna and Anikó Félix

    MODERN ANTISEMITISM IN THE VISEGRÁD COUNTRIES Edited by: Ildikó Barna and Anikó Félix First published 2017 By the Tom Lantos Institute 1016 Budapest, Bérc utca 13-15. Supported by 2017 Tom Lantos Institute All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. ISBN 978-615-80159-4-3 Peer reviewed by Mark Weitzman Copy edited by Daniel Stephens Printed by Firefly Outdoor Media Kft. The text does not necessarily represent in every detail the collective view of the Tom Lantos Institute. CONTENTS 01 02 Ildikó Barna and Anikó Félix CONTRIBUTORS 6 INTRODUCTION 9 03 Veronika Šternová 04 Ildikó Barna THE CZECH REPUBLIC 19 HUNGARY 47 I. BACKGROUND 20 I. BACKGROUND 48 II. ANTISEMITISM: II. ANTISEMITISM: ACTORS AND MANIFESTATIONS 27 ACTORS AND MANIFESTATIONS 57 III. CONCLUSIONS 43 III. CONCLUSIONS 74 05 Rafal Pankowski 06 Grigorij Mesežnikov POLAND 79 SLOVAKIA 105 I. BACKGROUND 80 I. BACKGROUND 106 II. ANTISEMITISM: II. ANTISEMITISM: ACTORS AND MANIFESTATIONS 88 ACTORS AND MANIFESTATIONS 111 III. CONCLUSIONS 102 III. CONCLUSIONS 126 The Tom Lantos Institute (TLI) is its transmission to younger gener- an independent human and minori- ations. Working with local commu- ty rights organization with a par- nities to explore and educate Jewish ticular focus on Jewish and Roma histories contributes to countering communities, Hungarian minori- antisemitism. The research of con- ties, and other ethnic or national, temporary forms of antisemitism is linguistic and religious minori- a flagship project of the Institute.
  • Download on Google Play Or the App Store

    Download on Google Play Or the App Store

    ב”ה תשרי תשע”ה TISHREI 5775 CERTIFIED SOUL NUTRITION ושבתה הארץ שבת לה׳ וציוויתי את ברכתי Dear Reader, 3 SHARE YOUR SPIRIT s we recommit ourselves to Yiddishkeit in this New Year 4 QUESTIONS FOR THE ~ Aand strive to do things better, we sometimes run into challenging HEALTHY SPIRIT areas. Mitzvos that seem hard to 5 WATER understand like kashrus and shmitta, which occurs this year, can be especially BEGINNING ANEW challenging. Although mitzvos that we 6 BY DR. YEHUDIT LANDO, PH.D. don’t thoroughly understand seem to TISHREI RECIPE be harder to observe than those mitzvos 9 SHIVAS HAMINIM SALAD that have a clear reason, if you look into the commentaries, you can find a reason for many of them. Then KEEPING KOSHER IN… again, even the mitzvos we do clearly understand should be done 10 VENICE with the same kabbalos ol as the mitzvos we don’t understand – BY LEIGH HERSHKOVICH the “chukkim” – since we truly don’t know the “real” reasons for PREPARING FOR SHMITTA any mitzvah; we do them only because they are commandments 12 BY MAAYAN MEIR from Hashem. As we start a shmitta year, some people might think that FROM THE DESK OF shmitta is a really unfair mitzvah. Why are the farmers the only 16 RABBI DON YOEL LEVY ones “penalized” for the entire year, while everyone else can continue working and profit? The truth is, if you look deeply into the Torah, the mitzvah of shmitta is extremely fair. Here is the “HASHGACHA” PROTIS 18 reason: Every other business run by a Jew is open six days a week and closed on Shabbos.
  • A Moscow Survival Guide 2008

    A Moscow Survival Guide 2008

    A Moscow Survival Guide 2008 for students and short term residents Created by ANO Pericles, Moscow © Pericles International, 1997 11th Edition © ANO Pericles, 2008. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means other than by the written permission of the copyright holder. However, you are welcome to link to this page without seeking prior permission. This Survival Guide was most recently edited March 2008. Please be aware that political, economic and bureaucratic changes in Russia occur frequently. Although ANO Pericles strives to keep its information up to date, we do not warrant the accuracy of any information contained herein. None of the advice herein is intended to be legal advice, nor to be relied upon in lieu of contacting legal counsel. None of the firms mentioned or recommended herein are affiliated with ANO Pericles, and we do not warrant the quality or availability of their service on any particular matter. To inform Pericles of changes or inaccuracies, or to obtain further information, please contact us at one of the addresses below. ANO PERICLES PERICLES AMERICAN BUSINESS & LEGAL EDUCATION PROJECT PHONE (7-495) 649-2273 E-MAIL: [email protected] WWW.PERICLES.RU INTERNATIONAL MAIL: C/O IPS BOX 210 511 AVE. OF THE AMERICAS PMB 572 N.Y., N.Y. 10011-8436 Table of Contents Introduction to a Successful Visit ........................................................................................... 3 Preparing for Your Trip.........................................................................................................
  • The Migration Crisis and the European Union: the Effects of the Syrian Refugee Crisis to the European Union

    The Migration Crisis and the European Union: the Effects of the Syrian Refugee Crisis to the European Union

    The Migration Crisis and the European Union: The Effects of the Syrian Refugee Crisis to the European Union Diane Faie O. Valenzuela 2014-05015 Political Science 172, MHB Professor Carl Marc Ramota Abstract In this paper, I will be discussing about the Syrian refugee crisis in the European Union. The Syrian refugee crisis, which is currently being experienced in European countries is said to be the one of the largest forced migrations since World War II. More and more refugees are heading towards European countries which are renowned to have good living conditions despite the perilous journey wherein thousands have died and face very inhumane conditions in getting to their destination. Because of this, the European Union has begun to undergo measures to help control the influx of refugees, most of which are at the cost of these refugees' safety. Keywords: Syrian Refugees, Migration Crisis, European Countries, European Union, Syrian Civil War The Syrian Conflict In February 2011, there were protests which erupted in the Southern city of Dar’a as a response to the apprehension of 15 middle school aged boys who had spray painted the common Arab slogan of the protests which bears pro-democracy slogans, wanting the ouster of the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad (Abboud, 2016). The protests at first simply wanted the Government to release the boys including political prisoners, but later began to evolve towards anti-regime tones which targeted the emergency laws, poor socio economic conditions, corruption, police brutality, and indiscriminate detention (Abboud, 2016). Dar’a began to experience the first protests of the Syrian uprising which was then called ‘Day of Anger’ on February 17, 2011 (Abboud, 2016).
  • A Pdf to See This Article As It Appears in Print

    A Pdf to See This Article As It Appears in Print

    Slovak World Congress (SWC) and Canadian Slovak League (CSL) journalists finally exposed his Nazi past.14 Created While Tiso While Tiso was executed for war and led by Nazi was executed for war crimes, crimes in 1947 by Czechoslovakia’s elect- collaborators and ed communist government, the SWC and their allies—the Toronto- two of his worst cronies, Jozef CSL hailed him as a national hero. On the based SWC and CSL— Kirschbaum and 50th anniversary of his death, CSL Toronto enjoyed many decades of Ferdinand Dur- held a Sunday church event to honour him. Cold-War support from the The day cansky, escaped Jozef Kirschbaum gave the commemorative Canadian government and after he met their trials. Given speech. The CSL raised funds to help buy corporate media, which Tiso’s home for use as a museum to exalt Hitler, Jozef safe haven by shared their toxic, his memory. Involved in that project were Tiso declared Canada’s Liberal anti-Red social various leaders including CSL president Ste- a “free” Slovakia. government, they psychosis phen Kovacic,15 who represented the CSL President Tiso’s Nazi helped to found at ABN-Canada’s 1986 conference. At that regime deported about and lead both the event featuring CIA-backed Nicaraguan and 75,000 Jews to death camps. SWC and CSL. Afghan terror groups, as well as many oth- Such myths of Nazi Slovakian inno- ers created and led by Nazi collaborators, cence have long been spread by key Cana- the CSL’s Kovacic said: bit.ly/HitlerTiso dian academics. As a history professor in It is my honour, by this presentation to he Slovak World Congress (SWC) Montreal and Toronto, and co-founder of the join the common fight of the enslaved was founded in Toronto in 1971 by University of Ottawa’s Chair in Slovak His- nations in Northern, Central and Eastern tory, Kirschbaum himself led the cover up.
  • FMA Visit to Bratislava in Context of Slovak Presidency

    FMA Visit to Bratislava in Context of Slovak Presidency

    2016 FMA Visit to Bratislava in context of Slovak Presidency 7- 8 NOVEMBER 2016 FMA Secretariat Office JAN 2Q73 European Parliament B-1047 Brussels Tel: +322.284.07.03 Fax: +332.284.09.89 E-mail: [email protected] Elisabetta FONCK Mobile phone : +32.473.646.746746 INDEX I. The Slovak EU Presidency 2016 ....................................................................................... 5 1. Priority Dossiers under the Slovak EU Council Presidency ................................... 7 2. Programme of the Presidency ........................................................................... 17 3. Slovak Presidency priorities discussed in parliamentary committees................. 53 4. Contributions of the LV COSAC........................................................................... 57 II. Political system in Slovakia .......................................................................................... 63 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 65 2. National Council and Parliamentary elections’ result ........................................ 67 2.1 NDI 2016. Parliamentary elections result ............................................. 79 2.2 The 2016 elections in Slovakia: a shock ............................................... 85 2.3 OSCE/ODIHR Election Assessment Mission Final Report ...................... 87 III. Economy in Slovakia ................................................................................................
  • Download/Print the Study in PDF Format

    Download/Print the Study in PDF Format

    GENERAL ELECTIONS IN SLOVAKIA 29th February 2020 European Can Robert Fico’s Direction- Elections Monitor Social Democracy remain in office in Slovakia? Corinne Deloy Analysis Slovaks are being called to the polls on 29 February to the resignation in March 2018 of Prime Minister Robert renew the 150 members of the National Council of the Fico, two ministers and the police chief. Republic (Narodna rada Slovenskej republiky), the only house of parliament. This election is an «important test The vote comes at the same time as the trial of for the country,» said political analyst Tomas Koziak. businessman Marian Kocner, who was arrested and «Will the electorate vote for parties that try to limit imprisoned in October 2018 for the double murder of democracy, compromise democratic ideas, or will they Kuciak and Kusnirova. Kocner, is also being prosecuted for turn to parties that oppose such practices?” The poll is dubious financial transactions and tax evasion, together taking place in an atmosphere of protest against the with three other people, the two killers, one of whom is authorities in power - and in particular the political class a former soldier, who has confessed to the murder, as - accused of corruption on the one hand, and the threat well as Alena Szuzsova, one of the businessman’s loyal of a vote in favour of the far-right nationalists united in associates, who are accused of acting as intermediaries. the People’s Party-Our Slovakia (LSNS) led by Marian The defendants face sentences ranging from 25 years to Kotleba on the other. This has also led to the creation life imprisonment.
  • Misha Pisman Transcript

    Misha Pisman Transcript

    Soviet Jewish Oral History Project Western Reserve Historical Society Interviewee: Misha Pisman Interviewer: Ken Bravo Date of interview: May 5, 2015 Location of interview: Park Synagogue East KEN BRAVO: My name is Ken Bravo. Today is Tuesday, May 5, 2015. I’m at Park Synagogue East interviewing Cantor Misha Pisman. First of all, Cantor Pisman, thank you very much for agreeing to be interviewed today. As I mentioned to you today before we started recording, the Jewish Archives of the Western Reserve Historical Society has a project, and we are interviewing people who came from the former Soviet Union and who have settled in Cleveland, Ohio. So thank you again. When and where were you born? MISHA PISMAN: I was born on July 28, 1953, in Moscow to a family of simple people. My parents were factory workers in Moscow. I was the first born, and then nine years later my sister was born. She lives in Israel now with her family. KB: And tell me a little bit about life growing up in Moscow when you were there, particularly about whether it relates to your knowing that you were Jewish and whether that was a part of your life growing up. MP: Well, I was born in July of 1953 as I said, and a few months before, in March 1953, Stalin died. And the reason I’m mentioning that is because shortly before Stalin died, he initiated that so-called case of Jewish doctors that were accused of trying to poison the top leaders of the Soviet government.