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Ukrainian Parliament Approves Tough Legal Penalties for Antisemitic Incitement
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by Ben Cohen
Illustrative: Lawmakers attend the sitting of Verkhovna Rada to vote a new Minister of Defense in Kyiv, Ukraine, November 4, 2021. Ukrainian Parliament votes a new Defense Minister. Photo: Sergii Kharchenko / NurPhoto via REUTERS
Ukraine’s parliament has approved tough sentencing measures for individuals convicted of antisemitic incitement that include hefty fines and lengthy prison sentences.
On Wednesday, the Verkhovna Rada — Ukraine’s legislative chamber — voted to amend the country’s criminal code to reflect the new penalties. Out of the parliament’s 450 deputies, 295 voted in favor of the legislation introduced by MP Maxim Buzhansky.
Certain antisemitic crimes, for example violence against Jews executed by organized groups, will now be punishable with prison sentences ranging from five to eight years. Fines for antisemitic incitement have also been increased to a maximum of $600 — a significant sum in the Ukrainian context.
Wednesday’s vote followed the passage last September of a law criminalizing antisemitism. That legislation coincided with the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of the infamous Babi Yar massacre, when 34,000 Jewish men, women and children were killed in mass shootings on the edge of the capital Kyiv on Sept. 29-30, 1941. The bill was signed into law the following month by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is himself Jewish.
Following the vote on Wednesday, the legislation’s backer, Buzhansky, criticized those MPs who rejected the amendments to the criminal code, some of whom in turn accused him of being an agent of Russia’s intelligence service, the GRU — a reminder that the simmering conflict with Moscow has domestic political repercussions as well.
