FOR THE RECORD: Kuchma address to Jewish leaders (12/11/94)

FOR THE RECORD: Kuchma address to Jewish leaders

Following is the text of remarks by President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine at a meeting with representatives of Jewish organizations in the United States on November 20 at Ukraine's Consulate General in New York. (Translated by The Ukrainian Weekly.)

On the eve of the state visit of the president of Ukraine to the capital of the United States of America, it gives me great pleasure to meet with you, the sons and daughters of the ancient and wise Jewish people.

I wished to meet with you not only to demonstrate my profound respect, but also to present to you our concept of the present and future of Ukrainian-Jewish relations. Of course, I would also like to hear your thoughts and advice.

I would like to focus on several points.

First. We always remember that Ukraine at one time was home to-one-third of all the world's Jewry. It was on Ukrainian soil that spiritual values of the Jewish faith were forged; unsurpassed works of Jewish philosophical thought, literature, the arts appeared there; the political ideas of Jewish national liberation gained a wide currency there.

The contributions of Jews to the development of the sciences and technology were and continue to be significant, literally in every sphere of life in Ukraine. My personal experience in the military-industrial complex gave me an intimate knowledge of how much Jews brought to our effort. We are proud of the fact that half a million citizens of Jewish nationality are working for the construction of Ukrainian statehood.

Independent Ukraine has once and for all put an end to state-sponsored anti-Semitism - the shameful legacy of the tsarist and Soviet periods. We are creating, not an ethnic state built on the Nazi principle of "purity of blood," but a democratic state with a developed civic society, similar to the United States of America, where each citizen regardless of his racial, ethnic, national or religious affiliation, is a full-fledged member of society and can realize his God-given right to a dignified and comfortable life.

We have eliminated from Ukrainian passports the shameful "item five" [contained in Soviet passports], which indicated a person's nationality. Today, each citizen of Ukraine has equal rights.

Second. Having put an end to state anti-Semitism, having condemned the so-called "intellectual" anti-Semitism that flourishes in some countries, we are doing everything possible, despite our economic difficulties, to ensure the rebirth of the social, religious and cultural life of the Jewish people in Ukraine. Today, the number of Jewish organizations and communities in Ukraine is growing more quickly than in any other country that was once a part of the USSR or the Communist bloc in Eastern Europe.

Only a few years ago, there were only 12 active synagogues in Ukraine, today there are 50. Solomon University has been opened in Kyyiv; there are 12 full-time Jewish schools and more than 50 Jewish Sunday schools; more than 20 Jewish religious societies have been established; Jewish papers are published; Jewish theaters and artistic ensembles are active. We created conditions to ensure that thousands of Hasidic Jews from Israel and the U.S.A. could come to Uman to celebrate Rosh Hashana near the gravesite of Rabbi Nakhman [founder of the Breslover dynasty of Jewish Hasids] and to pray to God.

Believe me, what I say to you today is neither propaganda nor an attempt to pull the wool over anyone's eyes, nor an effort to ingratiate myself. These are both my convictions as president and our serious long-term policy regarding the nationality question, a policy that is in keeping with the highest international standards in the sphere of the defense of human rights and the rights of national minorities.

Third. Is the life of the Jewish community in Ukraine so unclouded and problem-free?

No. This cannot be said. We understand that the demise of an entire historical stratum of the ancient Jewish civilization in Ukraine, as a result of the Holocaust perpetrated by Nazis and their accomplices, is a tragedy of universal human significance. Unfortunately, we cannot recreate the unique atmosphere of the towns destroyed by the firestorm of the second world war where Jews and Ukrainians lived in harmony for centuries.

The Jews of Ukraine, along with citizens of other nationalities, today carry the burden of the economic crisis that has fallen onto the shoulders of all citizens of Ukraine without exception. Old and young are suffering, and many Jews, seeking to escape these hardships, seek repatriation to Israel, and emigration to the U.S.A. or other countries - although such a decision is not easy. Ukraine respects the right of each persons to emigrate freely; our policy in this regard is fully in compliance with international standards. But, from a more humane point of view, it is unfortunate that thousands of gifted and active sons and daughters of the Jewish nation are leaving forever the land of their ancestors - Ukraine.

Our ideal, our goal, is to-create conditions so that no citizen of Ukraine - Jew, Ukrainian or Russian - is compelled to flee, so that all can build successful lives for themselves and their children in Ukraine. This is precisely why we have taken steps to realize a program of radical economic reform aimed at bringing Ukraine onto the road toward a market economy and freeing the huge productive and intellectual potential of our nation.

Of course, we are no different to expressions of aggressive chauvinism, nationalism, anti-Semitism, which we decisively condemn. We carefully monitor the activity of those small, not influential but extraordinarily noisy, groups whose actions are harmful to Ukraine. We are doing everything possible to ensure that the malignant tumor of neo-Nazism, pathological anti-Semitism, does not take root in Ukraine, and does not infect the still weak organism of our young state. We will not allow anyone to disturb the civic peace and tranquillity in Ukraine, to ignite the fire of fratricidal conflict on our land. As president of Ukraine, I firmly promise this.

Esteemed Ladies and Gentlemen!

The Ukrainian and Jewish people are two talented and unique peoples whom God's providence brought together on one land for a peaceful and fraternal life. But it was not always thus, and in our history there remain black pages, covered with blood. Having concerned the crimes of the past and individual criminals, we should at the same time renounce black-and-white clichés of anti-Semitism or Ukrainophobia, primitive wholesale accusations against entire nations of crimes against humanity. Let us together remember the words of the great son of the Jewish nation, Zev Vladimir Jabotinsky, born in Odessa: "A people is a sovereign entity; it is not subject to the demands of responsibility and does not need to justify itself."

Our course of action for the strengthening of friendship and trust between the Ukrainian and Jewish nations is a strategic course. With this in mind, we are building a truly amicable partnership with the stale of Israel and support the Israeli leadership policies in its efforts to further the peace process in the Middle East.

We wish to strengthen good relations between civic and religious organizations in Ukraine and Jewish organizations in the U.S.A. I invite all of you to Ukraine - to become acquainted with our beautiful land and our people, to deepen your understanding of our problems, and to become convinced of the seriousness of our intentions.

Today, Ukraine has become a place where many Jewish forums and festivals are held. We are ready to consider any cultural, economic or social projects that increase national concord in Ukraine.

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