Background Information: UCSJ report from October 2002
Human Rights Activist Condemns Textbook for Antisemitism, Xenophobia
A textbook recommended by the Ministry of Education for study by high school students in Moscow, Moscow Oblast and Voronezh Oblast incites antisemitism and other forms of religious and ethnic intolerance, according to a statement by Lev Ponomaryov—executive director of the “For Human Rights” organization. In a letter to the Prosecutor General of Russia, Mr. Ponomaryov calls for charges based on Article 282 of the Criminal Code (“Incitement of ethnic or religious hatred”) to be filed against the author of the textbook “Fundamentals of Russian Orthodox Culture” (A. V. Borodin) and officials at the Ministry of Education who recommended it. Citing the constitutional separation of church and state, he also calls for a legal review of the activities of a council within the Ministry whose cooperation with the Russian Orthodox Church led to the decision to officially recommend the textbook.
According to Mr. Ponomaryov, the textbook takes a “primitive antisemitic position” on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, arguing on page 112 that the crucifixion happened because the Jews were obsessed with “earthly well being and power over other peoples” rather than spiritual values. Mr. Ponomaryov compares this claim to Nazi propaganda, which also attributed “amoral qualities to a defined ethnic group.”
Yuri Tabak—a noted expert on religion whose opinion on the textbook was solicited by UCSJ—added another objection to this section of the textbook: A study question that asks students “Why did the Jews crucify Christ?” Mr. Tabak pointed out that in the Bible it clearly states that Roman soldiers, not Jews, crucified Jesus.
Mr. Ponomaryov also objected to a passage from the textbook which shows the author’s hostile attitude towards other religions:
“On page 16 the principle of ‘freedom of speech and religious conviction’ is seen solely as ‘terror against the Russian Orthodox Church, its priests and parishioners.’ At the same time, the repressive actions of the Bolsheviks against other confessions are not mentioned.”
A passage on page 11 defines a “sect” as a group that separates itself from the “ruling church”—presumably the Russian Orthodox Church—and blames these “sects” for the “many misfortunes and the suffering of Russians.”
Finally, page 13 contains an openly racist comment directed against non-Russians, referred to as “new residents” of Russia who “don’t always behave as positively as Russians do on the territory of a traditionally Orthodox state.” In Mr. Ponomaryov’s opinion: “It is hard to imagine a more obvious xenophobic attack against the multi-national and federal character of our state.”
Update: According to UCSJ's Moscow Bureau, a court hearing initiated by Mr. Ponomaryov's organization to block the distribution of the textbook in schools was disrupted when the judge got up and left in the middle of the proceedings, sending in baillifs later to clear the court.
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