Samantha Cardillo

I.
Title: Pessah blood livel resurfaces in Siberia
Date: March 20, 2008
Source: The Jerusalem Post
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1205420743514&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

II.
This article discussed the many issues occurring in Russia. According to this article, Russia had been posting signs around the city of Novosibirsk, warning locals to guard their children against being kidnapped by Jews for use in ritual slaughter. One poster even stated that Jews disposed the bodies after ritually draining their children’s blood. The posters claim to have been getting their “correct” information from Russian authorities who proclaimed that the recent kidnapping and murdering of children were from Jewish descendents. There are about 13,000 Jewish families in Novosibirsk, Russia’s third-largest city, who feel betrayed and deeply offended from these remarks. The head of the Jewish Agency’s Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism stated, “No one who went to work could have missed it. It was in the neighborhoods with huge apartment buildings, where hundreds of people pass by each building entrance.” Now Russian authorities state, that such prejudice actions have not occurred in Russia for decades, where as in Iran, it happens daily.

III.
a) This article definitely relates the AP World History theme of, development and interactions of cultures. This is because the various cultures in Russia, gained up on Jewish communities and proclaimed that they were murders of innocent children. Whether this statement was correct or incorrect, it is certainly recognized that the very different religions in Russia are not blending well together.
b) Russia and Jerusalem have been arguing ever since Jerusalem declared war on Syria, last April. Russia has been supplying Iran, (Jerusalem’s enemy) with many military weapons for years, and now they have recently donated weapons to Syria. Russia and Jerusalem definitely have huge issues toward each other.
c) This article was written by Haviv Rettig, a male Jewish citizen of Jerusalem.
d) Because Haviv Rettig is in fact a well-known Jewish writer in Jerusalem, his opinions may not be reliable. This is because it is also well-known that Russia and Jerusalem have not been getting along well with each other, and Rettig may have strong views on Russia. He may be saying that the Jewish hatred crimes are a lot worse then in reality.
e) It would have been helpful to hear from a non-Jewish Russian. This is not only because it would be an insiders view, but because it would be a non-Jew. Maybe Jerusalem is making a bigger deal then it should have been.
f) After reading this interesting article, I formed strong opinions that Russians should not have posted any hatred signs. To me, ridiculing ones religion is uncalled for and certainly unforgivable.