DISINFO: Poland, Baltic states and Ukraine are Russophobic and anti-Semitic
SUMMARY
It is not surprising that the events dedicated to the Holocaust victims memory were not honoured by the presidents of Poland, Baltic countries, and Ukraine. Volodimir Zelenskyy came to Israel but did not go to the world forum to combat anti-Semitism. The point here is not only the long-standing anti-Semitism common in these countries. All these states are infected with Russophobia. They are trying to present the defeat of Nazi Germany as a simple change of one occupation to another – German to Soviet. The thesis of a “war on two fronts,” against the “two totalitarian regimes” unites Warsaw and Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn. Kyiv joined them as well.
RESPONSE
A recurrent pro-Kremlin narrative on anti-Semitism and Russophobia. An attempt to depict EU member states and Ukraine as anti-Semitic.
Anti-Semitism is a tragic part of European history, and few countries can claim to have never hosted anti-Semitic sentiment. There is also no doubt that the manifestations of anti-Semitism still can be encountered in the European public discourse. EU and all member states have at several occasions clearly denounced anti-Semitism and committed to combating it.
Regarding Ukraine, the National Minorities Monitoring Group of Ukraine informs that there have been no acts of anti-Semitic violence in Ukraine and relatively small anti-Semitic vandalism in the last two years. The Group’s monitoring has found that "there is no antisemitic violence in Ukraine and that Ukrainian Jews are not confronted with direct physical danger." "However, some anti-Semitic vandalism occurs, such as the desecration of graves, synagogues and memorials to victims of the Holocaust. In 2018, there were 12 such cases, which is half of the previous year." In general, the Group concludes that the number of vandalism cases has decreased over recent years.
The report of the Israeli Government for 2018 confirms these conclusions. The report does not mention any examples of violence against Jews in Ukraine in 2018. It has also underlined the significant decrease in the number of acts of vandalism. The report also states that some of the cases that were reported in the media "might have been created artificially to damage the international image of Ukraine."
According to the Pew Research Centre, the level of anti-Semitism in Ukraine is one of the smallest among countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Check further debunking by StopFake.
As for the Baltic States, the accusation of ignoring the commemoration of the Holocaust victims is a recurring disinformation narrative. Lithuanian and Latvian presidents attended the ceremony to commemorate the victims of Holocaust in Poland. Lithuanian and Latvian speakers of parliament attended the forum in Jerusalem.
Read our past stories about Russophobia in the Baltic states and elsewhere The “Russophobia” Myth: Appealing to the Lowest Feelings and see similar disinformation cases alleging that Russophobia is the main activity of the Latvian state, that Latvia is a US vassal state, that Russophobic Lithuania plans to tear Belarus away from Russia by dragging it into the Western energy network, and that Russophobe and fascist Estonia persecutes the participants of the “Immortal Regiment” procession.