Excerpt:
Eighty Jewish and Muslim leaders from Ukraine and Russia have met in Kiev and pledged to work together to fight a rising cascade of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in the two countries. In the first-ever meeting of Jews and Muslims to be held in the Ukrainian capital, leaders of the two communities in Ukraine and Russia heard chilling accounts of recent beatings and harassment of Muslims and Jews in the two former Soviet republics, desecration of Muslim and Jewish cemeteries and bombings and other attacks on communal institutions of the two faiths. The leaders pledged to work together to combat the forces of extremism and hate and to press authorities in both countries to take a more assertive stand in fighting perpetrators of Islamophobic and anti-Semitic attacks.
Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU) and vice-president of the World Jewish Congress, hailed the historic event in Kiev, saying: "The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, together with our partners, is gratified to be standing in support of joint actions by Muslims and Jews in the former Soviet Union and across Europe. Our purpose is to make clear that Jews and Muslims will be there for each other if either is being unfairly attacked, and will stand united in support of principles of democracy and pluralism that will ensure a decent future for all Ukrainians and Russians."