Governor, Jewish Community Fight Xenophobia in Perm Region

At a recent youth conference on various aspects of modern life in Russia, Governor of Perm Region Oleg Chirkunov made an important statement in support of inter-ethnic tolerance. During the discussion, a participating member of the National People’s Party and an activist in the Movement against Illegal Immigration, Mr. Kirilovich stated that he and his friends have decided that racially-motivated murder was no longer effective and, therefore, they would instead be pursuing legal ways of their political struggle. The Governor denounced this statement, remarking that there is no place in the Perm Region for organizations that incite racial or national hatred within society and that legal proceedings should be initiated against the group based on this statement.

Following these events, the Jewish Community Center hosted a press conference involving the Chief Rabbi of Perm Region Zalman Deutch and Igor Ternavsky, the Chairman of the community’s Board of Trustees. At this meeting, Rabbi Deutch emphasized the importance of the current-day struggle against Fascism and anti-Semitism within society and called upon everyone interested in combating anti-Semitism to not use this struggle for political purposes. The Jewish leaders also took the opportunity to answer the multiple questions asked by the journalists and to show several articles published by the ‘Kesher’ Jewish Newspaper that profile the positive relations between the local community and the Administration of the Perm Region, both with respect to this and other issues.

While the problem of anti-Semitism exists in the Perm Region, relations between national communities and local authorities have always been warm and amicable. Governor Chirkunov maintains good relations with the Jewish community, demonstrating an interest in its development and involvement in the life of the region. His congratulation addresses on Jewish holidays are published in the local media, while he has met with Jewish leadership on Rosh Hashanah for the past two years. His meeting with Rabbi Deutch in November 2005 resulted in the start of the process for constructing a future building to host the Jewish Community Center and School.

The Jewish community of Perm is a member of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia.