KHERSON, Ukraine — City council member Sergey Kirichenko’s bid to replace Kherson’s Jewish mayor has turned into a wild anti-Semitic incitement campaign, blaming Jews for the country’s economic downturn and accusing them of plotting genocide.
According to Kherson’s Chief Rabbi and Chabad director, Yosef Wolff, the incitement has been building over the last few months and represents the latest development in a five year political war against Mayor Vladimir Vasilevitch Saldah.
Anti-Semitic Incitement, Poor Economy Have Kherson’s Jews Worried
KHERSON, Ukraine — City council member Sergey Kirichenko’s bid to replace Kherson’s Jewish mayor has turned into a wild anti-Semitic incitement campaign, blaming Jews for the country’s economic downturn and accusing them of plotting genocide.
According to Kherson’s Chief Rabbi and Chabad director, Yosef Wolff, the incitement has been building over the last few months and represents the latest development in a five year political war against Mayor Vladimir Vasilevitch Saldah.
“Kirichenko has been against the mayor for years because he wants to be mayor,” explains Wolff. “Now he’s playing on economic worries and using anti-Semitism because he’ll use anything for political gains.
Saldah, who is in his seventh year as mayor, has been a friend to Chabad, participating in public menorah lighting ceremonies and supporting Chabad’s growth in the city while working to develop the city, said Wolff.
A former member of Ukraine’s parliament, Kirichenko started using his radio show and weekly newspaper to incite against Ukrainian Jews, featuring excerpts and themes from Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion which he termed a “historical document.”
“The mayor is a Jew. All his friends are Jewish. Together they’re taking over the city and plotting against the Ukrainian people,” Kirichenko claimed on air recently. “The Jews are occupiers, they have occupied us, they stole all our wealth and control us… they create terms that will enable genocide of the Slavic people.”
