Presidential challenger in Ukraine refuses to condemn anti-Semitic article

One of Ukraine’s most powerful politicians has refused to denounce a leading Ukrainian newspaper for publishing an anti-Semitic article in which it is claimed that 400,000 Jews joined the Hitler's SS during the Nazi invasion of Ukraine in 1941. Aleksandr Moroz, leader of the Socialist Party of Ukraine and a presidential candidate for the October elections, told the news agency JTA that he was in no position to determine the veracity of the opinion piece. Moroz said he would continue to defend the newspaper and added: “I personally think the argument of the author of the article is incorrect, but I am not in a position to know all the facts.” Moroz’s comments, along with statements by other leading Ukrainians, indicate that the surge of anti-Semitism in the mass media in Ukraine is widely ignored by leading politicians as they prepare for the elections. Although Moroz is unlikely to win the presidency, his refusal to condemn the newspaper article is significant because he is a widely respected political figure in Ukraine.