Document #1327612
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
The United States Department of State
Country Reports 1997 states that anti-Semitism is
pervasive in Belarus and does not manifest itself openly (1998)
According to this source, "Senior Government officials, including
the president, and the State media used coded anti-Semitism in
their attacks on perceived opponents."
A 16 September 1997 urgent action release
issued by the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews (UCSJ) denounces
the content of a documentary broadcasted by the Belarussian state
television that "accuses Jews of murdering a Belarussian child in
the seventeenth century."
The attached article from The Jewish
Week states that Jews in Belarus anticipate the return of
anti-Semitism in a country currently governed by an autocratic
president (4 July 1997).
However, an earlier report by the Jewish
Telegraph Agency states that the leaders of the 100,000-member
Jewish community of Belarus "do not fear any rise of anti-Semitism
in Belarus, where ultranationalism and anti-Semitic groups are
weak." (9 Apr. 1997)
The UCSJ report entitled Antisemitism
in the Former Soviet Union : Report 1995-1997 contains a
country report on Belarus which provides information on Jews in
Belarus, on prevailing anti-Semitism and on the government response
to anti-Semitism (May 1997). It also contains essays on
anti-Semitism in Belarus. The report is available at Regional
Documentation Centres.
The attached January 1998 UCSJ report
entitled Chronicle of Antisemitism in the Former Soviet Union
April-December 1997 is an update to the May 1997 UCSJ report
and provides details on political extremism and religious
persecution in Belarus.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is
not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any
particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices for 1997. 1998. United States Department of State.
Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office
[Internet], http://www.state.gov.[Accessed : 16
February 1998].
The Jewish Week [New York]. 4
July 1997. Steve Lipman. "Living Under shadow: Despite a
Reawakening of Yiddishkeit, Jews in Belarus Fear Return of
Anti-Semitism Under Autocratic President." (The Ethnic New
Watch NEXIS)
Jewish Telegraphic Agency [New
York] 9 April 1997. Lev Krichevski. "Behind the Headlines: Belarus
Jews Remaining Calm Amid Rising Political Turmoil." (The Ethnic
New Watch/ NEXIS)
Union of Councils for Soviet Jews,
Washington, DC.18 August 1997. "Belarussian TV Revives "Ritual
Murder" Charge." (Press Release) [Internet], http://www.jsumonitor.com.[Accessed
: 6 February 1998]
Attachments
The Ethnic New Watch [Stamford,
Conn.]. 4 July 1997. Steve Lipman. "Living Under shadow: Despite a
Reawakening of Yiddishkeit, Jews in Belarus Fear Return of
Anti-Semitism Under Autocratic President." (NEXIS)
Union Council of Soviet Jews (UCSJ).
January 1998. Chronicle of Anti-Semitism in the Former Soviet
Union: April -December 1997. Washington, DC: Union Council for
Soviet Jews.