Statement of "Project Ukraine" on "The Ugly Face of Freedom" (12/04/94)

CONTINUING REACTION TO "60 MINUTES" REPORT

Statement of "Project Ukraine" on "The Ugly Face of Freedom"

Below is the statement issued on November 29 by Ukrainian and Jewish participants of the American Jewish Committee's "Project Ukraine."

Regrettably, "The Ugly Face of Freedom," the recent "60 Minutes" segment on anti-Semitism in Ukraine, was filled with flaws and distortions that created an imbalanced picture of contemporary Ukraine, a country emerging from 75 years of oppression and confronted with daunting tasks on every front, not least in its religious, ethnic, regional and political diversity.

The authors of this statement are involved with Jewish and Ukrainian American organizations. We have undertaken a joint initiative in Ukraine and the United States with "Project Ukraine." Most of us participated in a mission to Ukraine last summer. There is concern in Ukraine about right-wing extremists and anti-Semitic movements. In light of the history in this region, such threats must never be underestimated; rather, they must be carefully monitored at all times. But we saw no evidence to support charges that extremists and anti-Semites speak for the government, or that their influence on government policy or on the population at large is growing.

Had it wanted to keep faith with its tradition of critical but fair-minded reporting, "60 Minutes" could have focused on anti-Semitic and anti-democratic movements in Ukraine.

Had it wanted to keep faith with its tradition of timely and fair-minded reporting, "60 Minutes" could have examined developments in Ukraine's political life, or the condition of its many religious and national minorities.

Had it aimed for a balanced picture of Jewish life, "60 Minutes" might have juxtaposed two stories that reveal a more complex picture: the continuing exodus of Jews, which is unhampered by the government despite publicly voiced hopes by President Kuchma and other officials that Jews remain, and the simultaneous rebirth of organized Jewish life.

Instead, the report, certainly by implication if not explication, turned into a blanket indictment of Ukrainian society, which was judged by the behavior of a deviant minority and accused of tolerating conditions that threatened to destroy Jews.

The compelling story of Jewish renewal in Ukraine is perhaps unmatched in any former communist land. Since independence in 1991, Ukraine has enacted a national minorities law that prohibits anti-Semitism and the preaching and teaching of hatred against national minorities. Former President Leonid Kravchuk addressed Jewish audiences in Ukraine, the United States, Israel and Western Europe. He acknowledged and apologized for the history of anti-Semitism in his land and for the role of Ukrainians in it. He implored his audiences to judge today's Ukraine by the standards of a free people managing their own affairs, not by contemptible behavior during years of tsarist, Soviet and Nazi occupation, or the misbehavior today of a fringe minority.

These commitments are the foundation for the rebirth of Ukrainian Jewish life. Without them, Jewish schools, synagogues and organizations could not have emerged. Today, key officials of President Leonid Kuchma's administration meet with Jewish leaders in Ukraine, and the president maintains contact with Israel and with American Jewry.

As American Ukrainians and Jews, we have had to acknowledge deeply tragic and painful aspects of our past that have divided us. But through dialogue and last summer's joint mission to Ukraine, as Americans, we have also learned that we can be united by our experiences here and by a vision for a democratic Ukraine committed to fighting anti-Semitism, and committed to the protection of the human rights and full equality all of its citizens. These commonalties will, we earnestly hope, permit the writing of a new and different chapter in Ukrainian-Jewish relations.

We recognize that the new Ukrainian experiment in statehood and democracy is still unfolding and, as we acknowledged above, must confront myriad challenges - political, economic, security and other. Your reporting failed, in our view, to provide this larger picture, or any fair basis for contextualizing the disturbing information shown on the air. As such, we believe you misled the viewers of "60 Minutes" and did the people of Ukraine a disservice.

We would welcome the opportunity of explaining why we have dedicated ourselves to the goals of Project Ukraine: assisting democratic reform; enhancing the well-being of Ukrainian Jews and other minorities; pressing the state to adhere to its policy of protecting the rights and accommodating the aspirations of all of its citizens; and promoting positive relations among the peoples of Ukraine.

Boris Balan, Toronto/Kyyiv
Martin Bresler, New York
Alexander B. Chernyk, Philadelphia
John Danylenko, Philadelphia
Harold Gales, Detroit
Robert Goldman, New York
Vira Hladun Goldman, New York
Leonard Grossman, Philadelphia
Luba V. Markewycz, Chicago
David G. Roth, Chicago
Michael Slotznick, Philadelphia
George M. Szabad, Philadelphia
Carroll Weinberg, M.D., Wynnewood, Pa.
Ron Weiner, New York
Vicki Weiner, New York
Andrij Wynnyckyj, New York

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