Belarusian opposition activists have started a campaign against an anti-Semitic Russian newspaper.
The activists wrote letters to the Belarus Ministry of Information and to the state representative for religious and national issues asking them to prohibit the circulation of the newspaper Russkii Vestnik in the country because of its anti-Semitic content. A recent article in the newspaper was “a direct insult of religious Jewish people,” activist Maria Bagdanovich, who signed the letters, was quoted as saying by Belarusian Radio Liberty. Bagdanovich said that with their letters to the government, the activists enclosed stories from the newspaper that insult ethnic minorities. The activists say that if they receive no reply, they will contact the public prosecutor of Belarus. “I’ve read some articles in the newspaper Russkii Vestnik with really frightening anti-Semitic statements,” Leonid Levin, the head of the Union of Belarusian Jewish Public Associations and Communities, told JTA. Representatives of the Jewish community have been working with the government to prohibit the circulation of books and newspapers with anti-Semitic content. The Belarusian opposition shares Western liberal values and its activists frequently support concerns of the Jewish community.
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