Jerusalem Post - 07.10.03

 

 

 

 

 

The Jerusalem Post

 
Katsav says anti-Semitism on rise in Europe  

The Associated Press  

 

Anti-Semitism is on the rise in Europe, President Moshe Katsav said Thursday during a two-day visit to this former Soviet republic.  

 

"A hundred years after the pogrom in Chisinau, and 60 years since the Holocaust...the Jewish people suffer from anti-Semitism in Europe," Katsav said.  

 

"Over time, anti-Semitism changes its face. It is not destroyed. Sometimes it smolders, sometimes it turns into fire," he told Moldovan lawmakers.  

 

A century ago, 49 Jews were killed and hundreds were injured in Moldova's capital when angry mobs attacked Jewish inhabitants of the city, which was under Russian control at the time, and torched about 1,500 Jewish homes and businesses. Thousands of Jewish families were left homeless.  

 

Moldovans erected a statue in April to commemorate the pogrom. Moldova is not known for its anti-Semitism.  

 

Katsav met with Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin at the start of his visit. The two countries signed two agreements on fighting drug trafficking and improving road maintenance. Moldova has some of the worst roads in Europe.  

 

Katsav was expected to meet some of the 17,000 local Jews during his visit. When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, there were about 70,000 Jews living in Moldova.  

 

Located between Romania and Ukraine, Moldova, which has a population of 4.5 million, is considered Europe's poorest country.