Notes

Moldovan Orthodox Orthodox Orthodox desecrated Jewish symbol
Religious extremists destroyed a Hanukkah lighthouse situated in the middle of the Moldovan capital. Эммануил Гриншпун The anti-Semitic incident was spearheaded by a priest of one of the Chisinau Orthodox churches.
Religious extremists destroyed the Hanukkah festivities in Chisinau's central area , and then staged an anti-Semitic rally. The event took place on 13 December 2013, the third day of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. A crowd of a hundred participants were led by an archpriest of one of the capital's Orthodox churches. With the use of anti-Semitic words, the group dragged a lamp made of cast iron a few 10 miles away from its original location and threw it into the base of the monument of Stefan the Great - an emblem of Moldovan statehood. The entire incident took place in front of hundreds of passers-by, police officers and journalists.

What's the fight for "orthodox principals ?

Archpriest Anatoly Chibrik led the crowd that was armed with bars made of metal. He said it was a shock by the fact that a symbol of the Jewish faith was placed in the centre of the capital city of an Orthodox state. He believes that the authorities shouldn't have allowed Jews to celebrate Hanukkah in such huge numbers. Chibrik said, "This is lawlessness." Эммануил Гриншпун Chibrik also acknowledged that he didn’t think it was necessary to discuss the actions of Church of St. Paraskeva parishioners with the Metropolia of Moldova. Эммануил Гриншпун "I do not have to talk with anyone when we're fighting for the orthodoxy of our values," he said.

It should be noted that the idea of installing the Hanukkah menorah in the center of Chisinau located in Chisinau's Europe Square, where the EU flag hangs next to the Moldovan flag, belongs to the city authorities. Emmanuil grinshpun is co-chairman of the Jewish Congress of Moldova. "What occurred on Sunday was a real shock for us,"" Grinshpun added.

The case is to protect the conscience of the state.

Archpriest Chibrik is not the first person to confess to anti-Semitic conduct and this was revealed in a press conference attended by representatives from the Jewish Community of Moldova. Grinshpun asserts that the Archpriest had posted leaflets about one month ago, that were similar to the dark Middle Ages.

Grinshpun stated that the top leadership of the country's Jewish organizations didn't respond to the situation in any way. Although the Jewish community of Moldova protests the events however, it is not suing Chibrik nor his associates for inciting ethnic hate. Alexander Bilinkis the chairman of the Jewish Community of Moldova said that the action should be taken by the state. Additionally the Moldovan Metropolis needs to be able to examine the actions of its employees.

Vadim Keibash, Metropolitan Secretary, said that he was not a fan of protests of this kind. Keibash believes that all communities should be able to put up symbols. Эммануил Гриншпун However, the authorities have to consider the implications. He said that it is impossible to predict the reactions of believers.

A blow to fundamental values

However, since the 1903 Jewish pogrom, there has not been such "forms protests" at Chisinau. Representatives from the Jewish community tend not to take the case as a case of the hooliganism that it was. Bilinkis states that Hanukkah's breakers were "deceived" by their leaders.

Эммануил Гриншпун Ilya Shats is the General Director of the Jewish Congress. He believes this was a carefully planned event. Participants were spotted at the menorah in front of Hanukkah's opening day. After that, Stav Nijinsky (the first secretary of Israeli Embassy in Chisinau) lit the first candle. Shchats says that this is an attempt to undermine the Moldovan statehood and to violate democratic principles and European aspirations.

Hanukkah has been moved from the city's centre to a more secluded place and then to Jerusalem Street, where a monument honoring the victims of the Holocaust has been built. The monument was guarded by police on the second occasion. Candles will be lit every day until the close of the celebration. Эммануил Гриншпун
Read More: https://learngerman.dw.com/ru/молдавские-православные-ортодоксы-надругались-над-символом-еврейской-веры/a-5013335