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December 1, 2003
To: Officers, Rabbis, Key Contacts
From: Richard B. Stone, Chairman
Betty Ehrenberg, Director, International and Communal Affairs
Re: Desecration of Jewish Cemeteries in Eastern Europe
The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America condemns the
Jewish cemetery desecrations that have taken place in Grodno and
other cities in Belarus. Jewish cemetery desecrations in Europe
have been increasing in the past year. The most recent example is
that of Grodno where a soccer stadium is being expanded over a
300-year-old Jewish cemetery. The construction of this stadium has
destroyed and unearthed remains of Jewish graves. The Jewish
community in Belarus has appealed to their government, the U.S.
Congress, and to world and European sports authorities in an
attempt to stop the construction. The OU has been working with the
Committee for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe, the
New York JCRC, and the National Conference on Soviet Jewry to help
stop the construction. We are urging all our constituents to write
to the ambassadors of Belarus in Washington and to the United
Nations to tell them to stop the vandalism and desecration of a
Jewish cemetery. This blatantly anti-Semitic act, consistent with
the alarming increase of anti-Semitism in Europe, must not be
tolerated. Please write today to the Belarus Ambassadors at the
addresses below:
His Excellency Mikhail Khvostov
Embassy of the Republic of Belarus to the United States
1619 New Hampshire Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20009
Charge d’Affaire Mr. Aleg Ivanou
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Belarus to the United Nations
136 East 67th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10021
RBS
BE
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