A Letter to Putin from the Ukrainian/Russian Jewish community
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/03/06/you-must-be-consciously-picking-and-choosing-lies-ukrainian-jewish-leaders-issue-scathing-letter-to-putin/
the articles about the letter highlight a few scathing rebuttals to Putin and his minions..
but the letter itself is far more impactful.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/.premium-1.578474Russian President Vladimir Putin is doing nothing to move the gunpowder away from the fire. He has no reason to do so now.
He is also trying to use memories of World War II, with his media calling the revolutionaries in Kiev "Banderovtzi," supporters of anti-Semitic nationalist Stepan Bandera who fought for Ukraine’s independence and for a while supported the Germans. It hasn’t however created that much of an impression within Ukraine.
Letter to Putin
Meanwhile, Putin has lost at least one battle in which he invested major propaganda resources. For weeks, the Kremlin-controlled media has tried to portray the pro-Western parties in Ukraine as “neo-Nazis” and “anti-Semites.” A few Jewish figures, particularly Chabad rabbis, have echoed this rhetoric with warnings of a massive wave of anti-Semitism and calls for the Jews to flee Ukraine.
On Wednesday, dozens of Ukrainian Jewish leaders signed a joint open letter (not an easy feat for such a fractious community) to Putin excoriating him for his tendency to “pick and choose lies and slander from the massive amount of information about Ukraine” and accusing him that “in recent days stability in our country has been threatened. And this threat is coming from the Russian government, namely – from you personally. It is your policy of inciting separatism and crude pressure placed on Ukraine that threatens us and all Ukrainian people.”
In the letter they wrote that, as Russian-speaking Ukrainians, they are not concerned by an alleged attempt to persecute and marginalize Russian-speakers and refuted the Kremlin’s claims saying that “even the most marginal (of political parties) do not dare show anti-Semitism or other xenophobic behavior. And we certainly know that our very few nationalists are well-controlled by civil society and the new Ukrainian government – which is more than can be said for the Russian neo-Nazis, who are encouraged by your security services.”
Such a coruscating letter to Russia’s leader is unprecedented and is a clear indication that the Jews of Ukraine have decided to put their faith and fate in the hands of the Kiev government. If there are any indications that Putin may yet fail to undermine his neighbor and install a puppet regime in Kiev, the fact that Ukraine’s Jews are no longer sitting on the fence is one.
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper
Despite its historically relatively low circulation in Israel, Haaretz has been for many years considered Israel's most influential daily newspaper.[11] Its readership includes members of Israel's intelligentsia and members of its political and economic elites.[12] Surveys show that Haaretz readership has a higher-than-average education, income, and wealth and that most are Ashkenazim.[7][13] It functions for Israel much as the New York Times does for the United States, as a newspaper of record.[14] In 2007, Shmuel Rosner, the newspaper's former U.S. correspondent, told The Nation that "people who read it are better educated and more sophisticated than most, but the rest of the country doesn't know it exists"
http://www.timesofisrael.com/ukraines-jews-lambaste-putin-in-open-letter/Ukraine’s Jews lambaste Putin in open letter
In repeated statements from the Kremlin, Putin has asserted that Ukraine’s new government is composed of “fascists and neo-Nazis,” and he decried what he said was the anti-Semitism of Ukrainian protesters in his Tuesday press conference.
“Your certainty about the growth of anti-Semitism in Ukraine, which you expressed at your press conference, also does not correspond to the actual facts,” wrote the group. “Perhaps you got Ukraine confused with Russia, where Jewish organizations have noticed growth in anti-Semitic tendencies last year.”
Calling for Putin to cease his intervention in Ukraine and his calls for pro-Russian separatism within the country, the group stated that it does not wish “to be ‘defended’ by sundering Ukraine and annexing its territory.”
Instead, the authors wrote, “we are quite capable of protecting our rights in a constructive dialogue and in cooperation with the government and civil society of a sovereign, democratic, and united Ukraine.”
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/03/06/you-must-be-consciously-picking-and-choosing-lies-ukrainian-jewish-leaders-issue-scathing-letter-to-putin/
the articles about the letter highlight a few scathing rebuttals to Putin and his minions..
but the letter itself is far more impactful.