Moldova: Anti-Semits in Mayorate?


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Date: Sat, 15 Dec 2001 16:24:33 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: Moldova: Anti-Semits in Mayorate?

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

Original sender: Ilya Trombitsky <[email protected]>

Moldova: Anti-Semits in Mayorate?


ANTI-SEMITS IN MAYORATE?

The Chisinau Education Department is trying to close down the unique
in Moldova traditional Jewish feeding program (Koshrut) attached to
the Jewish school nr.15 - the program, which is supplying children and
elderly people with free lunches.

The Department Leadership of Chisinau (Kishinev) Mayor orders the
Jewish Communities Federation of Moldova, which is putting the feeding
program into effect, to leave the dining room of the above-mentioned
school in 10 days and discharges the school principal. The
indignations of pupils' parents, trade union and the State Cult
Service are being ignored. The Chisinau Jewish Community had not been
confronted with such undisguised anti-Semitic attacks on the part of
the authorities for a long time by now!

Let us try to look into this problem. In 1992 on the initiative of
Chisinau Jewish Community of the Jewish Communities Federation of
Moldova, the Jewish school nr.15 was opened. The Federation had always
been a sponsor of this school: it had provided the pupils with food
(twice per day), transport, repairs, organization of summer camps and
a lot more. According to the Treaty of Cooperation, concluded in June
2000, the Education Department had placed the school dining room at
the Federation's disposal for organizing lunches for invalids, the
poor and pensioners. Now, apart from the pupils' feeding, here were
made kosher lunches for elderly people and for a number of Jewish
organizations.

Now the Department in the person of Anatol Mocrac decided to cancel
the contract, seeing infringement of the tenure law in it. As a matter
of fact, it is not a question at all. In the treaty, it is clearly
mentioned: Department on the gratuitous foundation grants the
Federation dining-room of the school nr.15, while the Federation, in
its turn, is committing itself to carry out the school repair work, to
pay for the electric power used in the dining-room, and to organize
the out-of-class activities for children. Moreover, it is exactly what
the Federation is doing. The Department is canceling the treaty
unilaterally, while it is illegal, due to the fact that all the
arguments concerning the fulfillment of the contract and its
unilateral cancellation are supposed to be solved in the court of law.

However, the Department went even further. The school principal Sophia
Shkolnick has been dismissed, although she had been holding this post
for 6 years without any reproach on the Department's part. Therefore,
on what grounds was the principal sacked? It appears that she had
exceeded her commission and leased the school dining-room with no
permission. This is an obvious lie, for the reason that leasing was
out of the question from the very beginning, as it was already
mentioned. It is interesting that they gave Sophia the sack, while she
had been on sick leave and without any agreement with the trade union
body. Even though this fact is an absolute violation of a number of
clausesof the Labor Code. The trade union organization has expressed
its disagreement with the actions of Mr. Mocrac, but the protest was
ignored. The School 15 Parents Association made the same protests, but
the whole thing was in vain, although this organization is officially
registered. Furthermore, Anatol Mucrac is not paying any attention on
the letters sent by State Cult Service under the Republic of Moldova
Government.

The dismissal of the principal is also at variance with the National
Minority Law. In accordance with that law, appointment and discharge
of the national minority schools principals is impossible without the
consultation with the community which had initiated the foundation of
these schools. In this case, the initiator of school 15 foundation, as
it was previously mentioned, had been the Chisinau Jewish Community
JCFRM, but not a single discussion with its leadership took place.

Kashrut is a cornerstone of the Jewish community existence, - says
Jacob Vaiselbookh, the Jewish Community Federation president. We did
not have an opportunity to observe the Kashrut related prescriptions
for a long time. And now, when finally such an opportunity appeared,
suddenly somebody decided that it would be profitable for him to close
down the unique in the country program of Jewish feeding. The goal of
the Education Department is to supply the Jewish school nr 15 with the
School Feeding Plant products with the sole purpose of this process to
be as everywhere. Why do they need it in a state, where the freedom of
creed and conscience are declared? It is commonly known, that the
experts in the nourishment hygiene all over the world acknowledge the
diet Jewish laws. It is not a secret, that in the western doctors in
various fields of medicine, recommend their patients to purchase
foodstuff precisely at the Jewish kosher meal stores. Here everything
is just the opposite. They are trying to deprive Jewish people of
kosher food, while Kashrut is their religious demand. Now the Jewish
Communities Federation is fighting against the despotism of Education
Department at the court of law.

Signed: Moishe Mishuris

Newspaper "Novoe Vremia", Chisinau, Moldova, 07.12.2001

Direct contact with the article's author: "Moishe Mishuris"
<[email protected]>

Translated from Russian by the sender of the submission

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