Moldova: Update to Response to Information Request MDA25773.E of 28 November 1996 on the situation of Jews in Moldova and state protection available to them

Information on the situation of Jews in Moldova since November 1996 is limited among the sources consulted by the DIRB.

According to an updated report taken from the Friends of Kishinev Jewry Internet Web site on 24 July 1997, "the Jewish community of Kishinev is experiencing a renaissance, unprecedented in modern times. Jewish life in Kishinev and its neighbouring towns is once again alive and well." Please see the Friends of Kishinev Jewry attachment for additional discussion of Jewish life in Moldova, including information on the availability of schools, synagogues, Jewish camps, Jewish day care centres, etc.

Antisemitism World Report 1996, reporting on events in 1995, states that "given the relaxation of tensions over the Transdniester separatist issue, all the evidence points to the fact that antisemitism was not a serious problem in 1995" (1996, 175). Please see the Antisemitism World Report 1996 attachment for further information on the situation of Jews in Moldova in 1995.

According to Country Reports 1996 "the Jewish community [in Moldova], although small, is very active. Jewish leaders reported that their relations with the Government and local authorities were good" (1997, 1040).

A senior lecturer and research fellow at the Tel Aviv University Department of History and at the Cummings Centre for Russian and East European Studies in Tel Aviv stated in a 29 December 1996 letter to the DIRB that

the level of threats against Jews is low and generally antisemitic incidents tend to be rarer and less grave as compared with other former Soviet states. ... However, in individual cases, persons could be threatened, even with violence. In such cases the authorities would provide adequate, if albeit slow protection.

Please see the "senior lecturer" attachment for additional commentary on the overall human rights situation for Jews in Moldova.

The May 1997 Antisemitism in the Former Soviet Union Report 1995-1997 attachment, published by the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews (UCSJ), states that

Jews in Moldova have experienced minor forms of antisemitism, but it is clear that a substantial nationalist-xenophobic portion of the population is making life hard for them. The government does not advocate anti-Semitism as official policy. But in the breakaway region of Transdniester, the situation is considerably more odious. Slavic nationalism there is very influential, and Jews are victims of frustrated nationalistic ambitions (175).

Please see the UCSJ attachment for further information on the situation of Jews in Moldova and for a review of specific antisemitic incidents from 1990 to 1995.

Regarding state protection available to Jews in Moldova, a senior lecturer and research fellow at Tel Aviv University states that

Acts of violence are rare, they do occur, but generally are insignificant. Instead Jewish property, [such] as cemeteries are more likely to be vandalized. In all cases, the authorities - police, the judiciary are providing protection. However the process is slow, often clumsy and inefficient, characteristic of the post-Soviet states. There are not significant recorded cases of discriminating activity by the system against Jews as such (29 Dec. 1996).

Please see paragraphs 5 and 6 of page 172 of the Antisemitism in the Former Soviet Union Report 1995-1997 attachment for additional commentary on state protection available to Jews in Moldova.

Country Reports 1996 reports that "the [Moldovan] judiciary is subject to the influence of the prosecutor's office" (1997, 1037), but states that "the independence of the judiciary has increased since the dissolution of the Soviet Union" (ibid., 1038). The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) Annual Report 1997: Human Rights Developments in 1996 states that the Moldovan judicial system is "highly inadequate" (1997, 182). The Moldovan intermediate Court of Appeal, established in 1996, was still not in operation by the end of the year, and according to the IHR

there was no real indication that the government was intending to remedy the problem in the near future. Since the formal creation of the court, many cases have been submitted but have not been heard or adjudicated. By 1997, the number of cases was still growing and the backlog becoming considerable (ibid.).

Please see the IHF attachment for more information on the Moldovan judiciary.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Country Reports on Human Rights Conditions for 1996. 1997. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.

Friends of Kishinev Jewry, Chisinau. nd. "Kishinev, Moldova...." [Internet]  [Accessed 24 July 1997]

Institute for Jewish Policy Research and the American Jewish Committee. 1996. Antisemitism World Report 1996. 5th ed. Edited by Antony Lerman. London: Institute for Jewish Policy Research and the American Jewish Committee.

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF). 1997. Annual Report 1997: Human Rights Developments in 1996. Vienna: IHF.

Senior lecturer and research fellow specializing in antisemitism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, Department of History, Tel Aviv University. 29 December 1996. Letter sent to the DIRB.

Union of Councils for Soviet Jews (UCSJ). May 1997. Antisemitism in the Former Soviet Union: Report 1995-1997. Washington, DC: UCSJ.

Attachments

Friends of Kishinev Jewry, Chisinau. nd. "Kishinev, Moldova...." [Internet]  [Accessed 24 July 1997]

Institute for Jewish Policy Research and the American Jewish Committee. 1996. Antisemitism World Report 1996. 5th ed. Edited by Antony Lerman. London: Institute for Jewish Policy Research and the American Jewish Committee, pp. 174-75.

Senior lecturer and research fellow specializing in antisemitism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, Department of History, Tel Aviv University. 29 December 1996. Letter sent to the DIRB.

Union of Councils for Soviet Jews (UCSJ). May 1997. Antisemitism in the Former Soviet Union: Report 1995-1997. Washington, DC: UCSJ, pp. 171-75.

Additional Sources Consulted

Amnesty International. March 1997. Concerns in Europe: July-December 1996.

     _____. 1997. Amnesty International World Report 1997.

     Connect: To the Fight Against Discrimination and Racism [Tokyo]. February-May 1997.

CSCE Digest [Washington, DC]. September-December 1996.

Current History [Philadelphia]. October 1996-May 1997.

DIRB Country File on Moldova.

Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States 1997. 1996.

Extremism from the Atlantic to the Urals. 1996.

Extremist Groups: An International Compilation of Terrorist Organizations, Violent Political Groups, and Issue-Oriented Military Movements. 1996.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports. October 1996-July 1997.

Freedom Review [New York]. January-February 1997.

Human Rights Quarterly [Baltimore]. February-May 1997.

Human Rights Watch. 1996. Human Rights Watch World Report 1997.

     L'État du Monde 1997. 1997.

Nationalities Papers [New York]. September 1996-June 1997.

Open Media Research Institute (OMRI) Daily Digest [Prague]. 1 October 1996-28 March 1997.

Patterns of Prejudice [London]. July 1996-July 1997.

Transition: Events and Issues in the Former Soviet Union and East-Central and Southeastern Europe [Prague]. October 1996-July 1997.

Online search of LEXIS/NEXIS database.