Considering the attitude of the Estonian Jewish Community
the advert agency Media House did not fulfill the SWC
request to post an ad that offers USD 10.000 for the
information about the living Nazi war criminals in Estonia.
Chairwoman of the Estonian Jewish community, Cilja Laud, Chairman of the Former
Ghetto and Concentration Camps Prisoners’ Association, Vladimir
Perelman and the only one Estonian rabbi asked in their letter
to the Media House not to publish the ad “because its text
endangers the multicultural peace”.
The SWC is chocked that the ad will
not be published in Estonia
The SWC was shocked and was very offended that the Estonian advert agency refused
to post the Center’s ad.
The SWC planed the ad campaign to
appeal to people offering them USD 10,000 award. The Agency
refused to publish the ad, which contained the following
statement “Estonians murdered the Jews during the Holocaust
not only in Estonia but elsewhere”. Referring to the data
of Security Police not a single Estonian was sentenced for
a murder of Jews. And the Police dos not have any evidences
on this kind of crimes. The ad agency added that this ad
of the SWC interrupts with the Estonian primary laws.
Director of SWC, Efraim Zuroff said
that the decision is absolutely offending. “The Security
Police has shown again that their interest is to preserve
the good name of Estonians instead of bringing the Nazi war
criminals to a court in this country.” Efraim Zuroff continued,
“It is known that the International History Commission that
was established by the President acknowledged the fact that
Estonian police unit participated in the killing of Jews
in Belarus in 1942. The Center has additional evidences that
proves this fact. Considering this fact we are standing 100
percent behind the ad content. In this situation we can only
wait/hope those Estonian Nazi war criminals regardless to
the level of the crimes they committed to be brought to the
court one day in future.”
”In principle the position of the Security Police is absolutely
controversial to the mentioned Estonian History Commission
statement”, added Efraim Zuroff.
In the online newspaper vise director
of the Media House agency said, “In no case the Media House
is playing the role of those who would change the text. It
is not the case into which we would intervene. We are in
active cooperation with … and the Jewish Community and we
even asked the opinion of the experts of Tartu University
Semiotics department. ”Supporting the analyses of Jewish
Community chairwoman, the Security Police, the Tartu University
Semiotics department, Vladimir Perelman and the Estonian
rabbi we raised a request to the SWC to change the ad content.
I say repeatedly that this is not one-sided action of the
Media House and the agency cannot be in a position of censorship.
In democratic state the free press is the censor.”
In the conclusion of Tartu University Semiotics department
experts’ opinion it is written that the ad poster of the
SWC bears in its content much more than an ordinary poster
would do and “without any arguments it accuses Estonians
as a whole nation for the murder of Jews and is demagogic
towards Estonian history.” The poster does not call for violence
but it endangers the peace in country’s life. “It is an extremely
unfair/incorrect behavior towards Estonians and as such it
creates a favorable atmosphere for anti-Semitism.”, wrote
Tartu University Semiotisa department chairman, Peter ...
Referring to the experts there is no reason to fully forbid
the poster but the first four lines should be taken away.
Those four lines that causes a tension in Estonian society,
lack of professionalism and capacity, are historically unfair
and creates the atmosphere of hostility.
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