The answer: "No, Bush does not hate Jews." A better question might be: what is the intention of the above author - Mark F. - in writing this article? A reasonable argument can be made that Mark F. has an issue specifically with Ukraine. Mark F.'s reasoning is: Bush likes Ukraine; Ukrainians hate Jews; therefore, Bush hates Jews? Let's try this with, say... Cheney is a Republican; Republicans hate homosexuals; therefore, Cheney hates homosexuals (his daughter, too)? Not only is this flawed reasoning, but Mark F. generalizes to augment his incorrect position.
Let's sort out a couple of Mark F.'s points:
-- "Most favored" status is simply a legal expression which means that a given counry has normal relations with the U.S.; the status bestows no moral claim whatsoever.
-- Ukraine was singled out on purpose and wrongly labeled flat out anti-semitic and Jew-hating. Conveniently, Russia was left out of picture. If Ukraine is anti-semitic, Russia is ultra-anti-semitic/xenophobic. At least Ukraine affords some kind of a democratic process, Russia is a country ruled by KGB cronies w/ skinheads frolicking unrestrained. See below newspaper article:
*Israel Voices Concern at Anti-Semitism in Russia, Calls Officials “Drunks”
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/01/20/israeldrunks.shtml
*Today, anti-Semitic pronouncements, speeches and articles are common in Russia, and there are a large number of anti-Semitic neo-Nazi groups in the republics of the former Soviet Union, leading Pravda to declare in 2002 that "Anti-semitism is booming in Russia."[40] Over the past few years there have also been bombs attached to anti-Semitic signs, apparently aimed at Jews, and other violent incidents, including stabbings, have been recorded.
*Though the government of Vladimir Putin takes an official stand against anti-semitism, some political parties and groups are explicitly anti-Semitic, in spite of a Russian law (Art. 282) against fomenting racial, ethnic or religious hatred. In 2005, a group of 15 Duma members demanded that Judaism and Jewish organizations be banned from Russia. In June, 500 prominent Russians, including some 20 members of the nationalist Rodina party, demanded that the state prosecutor investigate ancient Jewish texts as "anti-Russian" and ban Judaism — the investigation was actually launched, but halted amid international outcry. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Semitism...he_Soviet_Union
--A coalition between Yushchenko and Tymoshenko will not double pressure on Jews. Both Yushchenko and Tymoshenko are seasoned and MODERATE! politicians. They both have many, many friends and advisers who are Jews. It is true that Ukraine has a small segment of population who does not like Jews (to put it mildly), however that is a small, politically insignificant group without any political clout (under 3%).
Here is a finding by Euro-Asian Jewish Congress:
"In a comparison of anti-Semitism in Russia and Ukraine, researchers have concluded that the situation in Ukraine is noticeably calmer. Manifestations of interethnic conflicts in Ukraine are not as acute as in Russia. The level of Jewish phobia in particular and xenophobia in general is lower among Ukrainians than among Russians, and Ukrainian political groups employ anti-Semitic tactics less than Russia’s politicians."
ANTI-SEMITISM IN UKRAINE
Vyacheslav Likhachev
Source: http://www.eajc.org/program_art_e.php?id=10
So in conclusion, we can be rather confident of the following:
1. Bush does not hate Jews
2. Ukraine is not an anti-semitic country like Russia, Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia; although it has its own intolerance issues, Ukraine is no different from any other democratic state where radical views exist.
3. A Yushchenko-Tymoshenko/pro-Western coalition is better, not worse for all people living in Ukraine including the Jewish people
It is unfortunate that such flawed understanding of ethnic relations in Ukraine fills the internet. I hope this refutation contributes critically to the discussion on the net.
Regards,
Matt A.
