Vandals scrawl swastika on monument to Sholem Aleichem in Kiev
An unidentified group of vandals painted a swastika on the monument honouring the father of Jewish literature, Sholem Aleichem, according to a report posted on Sunday night by Chief Rabbi of Ukraine and Kiev, Moshe Reuven Asman, on his Facebook page.
Sholem Aleichem monument in Kiev, Nov. 25, 2019.
It is yet another case of antisemitism in Ukraine in the past several weeks.
In September, for instance, unidentified criminals desecrated a monument dedicated to the Jews who perished in a massacre in Bogdanoka village in Nikolayev region.
The attackers this week spray-painted a swastika in red and left a note with threats to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; former transportation minister Yevgeny Chervonenko, and head of Ukrainian Jewish Committee Eduard Dolinsky.
Haim Ben-Yakov, CEO of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, addressed the Ukrainian government, saying “to our great dismay, recently we have been witnessing an increasing number of antisemitic incidents all across Ukraine. The country’s law-enforcement agencies must do everything possible to find and prosecute the criminals. Desecration of monuments is an alarming symptom of a troubling condition, which can develop into a more acute form.
“It is urgent that we act promptly and decisively in order to avert further escalation of antisemitic sentiment in the country,” he stressed.
On Nov. 27, Kiev will host the first Summit of Euroasian Jewry, bringing hundreds of Jewish leaders from across the region together for the first time.
(JNS)
