Its parliament Of Ukraine passed today Wednesday (22/9) a law which defines the meaning of anti-Semitism and introduces penalties for violations.
It is estimated that 0.2% of Ukraine’s 41 million people are Jewish, and there have been isolated incidents of anti-Semitism since 1991, when the country declared independence.
Before the war, the country’s Jewish population numbered about 1.5 million, but literally perished in the Holocaust during the Nazi occupation.
“The lack of a clear definition of anti-Semitism in the Ukrainian legislation does not allow the correct classification of the crimes committed on its basis,” said the authors of the law, as broadcast by APE-MPE.
“In practice, this leads to the real impunity of offenders,” they said.
The law, which was passed in its final reading with 283 votes, and with the required minimum of 226 votes, defines anti-Semitism as hatred against Jews and prohibits it. Its manifestation can be directed against the Jews as well as against their property, places of worship or their communities.
The law prescribes penalties, but also allows victims to claim compensation for causing material and moral damage.
To enter into force, the law must be signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The president’s parents were Jewish and he has stated that he lost relatives in the Holocaust.
This month, Ukraine will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Babi Yar massacre, one of the largest single killings of Jews during the Holocaust.
Nearly 34,000 Jewish men, women and children were massacred in the Babi Yar area (a gorge at the northwestern tip of the capital Kiev) over a two-day period, on September 29-30, 1941.
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