European rabbis urge Ukraine to prosecute local politician
Former MP Sergey Kirichenko launches wild anti-Semitic campaign as part of bid to replace Kherson's Jewish mayor. 'Jews stole all our wealth and are destroying Slavic nation from within,' he says in interview. Rabbinical Centre of Europe urges Ukrainian authorities to take immediate action
Ukraine's Jewish residents have lately been the target of a wild anti-Semitic campaign launched by Sergey Kirichenko, member of the Kherson City Council and a former parliament member.
Kirichenko has accused Jews of taking over the country and striving to wipe out the Slavic race. "The Jews are occupiers, they have occupied us, they stole all our wealth and control us… they create terms that will enable genocide of the Slavic people," Kirichenko claimed in a recent interview.
He further said that, "Like in Gaza, where they kill women and children, they are destroying the Slavic people from within."
On other occasions, Kirichenko proclaimed that "the Jews are the only one getting rich while everybody else is suffering… this is the reason why we live so poorly in Kherson, why we are being ripped off every day,wy we have no peace… the Jews think that the Ukrainians are an inferior race that is meant to serve them, which is why they perpetrate crimes no other nation would dare to do."
The politician has also defined "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" "historical documents."
Kirichenko's statements have outraged the Rabbinical Centre of Europe (RCE)h urged the Ukrainian authorities to put Kirichenko on trial and promote legislation banning similar expressions.
The RCE, which last year called on France to suspend any cooperation with Ukraine until it curbs anti-Semitism in the country, estimated that Kirichenko's anti-Jewish campaign was part of his bid to replace Kherson's present Jewish mayor.
The Centre called on Ukrainian authorities to denounce Kirichenko and press charges against him for inciting hatred. "It would be very irresponsible to simply ignore the remarks, especially as there are many who hear them, and amongst those, some who actually believe them.
"In line with much of Europe, the Ukrainian government ought to legislate against such bigotry. There is no place for such a warped mindset in the Twenty-First century.” the RCE said in a statement.
