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New York, NY, May 11, 2017 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today appealed to President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine to fire a high-ranking member of the main national security agency, who made flagrant anti-Semitic remarks and threats on Facebook this week.
Gen. Vasil Vovk, a Ukrainian Security Service reservist and public figure who frequently appears on national television, posted a series of hateful statements against Jews, including: “I am completely against Jews,” “my Ukraine is against Jews,” and “You are not Ukrainians and I will annihilate you along with Rabinovich” – an apparent reference to Vadim Rabinovich, a Ukrainian Jewish businessman.
“As a public figure who appears often on television and is closely associated with the Ukrainian Security Service in such broadcasts, General Vovk’s blatant anti-Semitism and threat of violence must not be tolerated by Ukrainian authorities,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “We call on President Poroshenko, who oversees the Ukrainian Security Service, to address this matter decisively and publicly.”
In a letter to President Petro Poroshenko, ADL urged the government to take immediate action to hold Gen. Vovk accountable for his remarks. The League also recommended training, similar to workshops conducted for law enforcement by ADL in the United States., to ensure that the nation’s law enforcement agencies work proactively to prevent extremist ideologies from taking hold among the rank-and-file.
ADL is America’s foremost non-governmental authority on domestic terrorism and extremism and organized hate groups and hate crimes and has trained more than 130,000 law enforcement officers on the responsibilities of law enforcement officers to guard against extremism as a threat to democracy.