In Sochi, a book by Marcus Lehmann and an article on the concept of the Holy Land in Judaism are recognized as extremist

The court saw signs of incitement to hatred of non-Jews in a nineteenth-century novel and an article by a philologist, a specialist in Jewish-Russian cultural relations.

From updates of the Federal List of Extremist Materials dated July 17, 2017, we learned that on March 22, 2017, the Central District Court of Sochi satisfied the lawsuit of the district prosecutor's office and recognized the novel by Markus Lehmann as extremist "Forcibly Baptized" (Moscow, 2001) and an article by Zoya Kopelman "The Holiness of the Land of Israel" ("Fathers and Sons", issue 35, Moscow, 2001).

The novel "Forcibly Baptized" by Markus Lehmann (1838-1890), a rabbi, writer and public figure from Germany, tells about the fate of the Jews who lived in the XIV century. on the territory of Poland and Lithuania, in particular about their persecution and discrimination.

Article literary critic and translator, lecturer at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, specialist in relations between Jewish and Russian cultures Zoya Kopelman dedicated to the idea of ​​Israel as a holy land in Judaism.

Decision of the Central District Court of Sochi was based on some expert opinion, according to which the novel " contains information aimed at inciting hatred for Christianity (in particular, for Catholicism), for inciting religious hatred and enmity towards Christians, as well as for promoting the superiority and exclusivity of Judaism over Christianity", and in the article - " information aimed at inciting hatred and enmity towards peoples of non-Jewish nationality, as well as to promote exclusivity and superiority of the Jewish people over other peoples , "," they are seen signs of extremism, namely the incitement of national, religious hatred, propaganda of the exclusivity and superiority of man on the basis of his national, religious affiliation, attitude to religion, violation of rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of a person and a citizen, depending on his national, religious affiliation, attitude to religion ", which means their distribution encourages citizens " to commit an offense, which provides for criminal liability, facilitates its commission, helps its preparation and kindles a social, racial, national or religious strife among the population .

From our point of view, there were no grounds for banning these materials. Judgment rendered evidence of incompetence prosecutor's office and the court of the Central District of Sochi, as well as the authors of the examination, on which they relied on, having, obviously, no idea about Judaism as an ethnocentric religion, for which ideas about the mission of the Jewish people and the holiness of the land of Israel are essential and inalienable. In addition, the belief in the truth of one's own religion is inherent in all believers and should not be interpreted as inciting hatred towards adherents of other faiths.

We also note that the text of the judgment indicates that that the experts were asked whether the materials raised hatred, which is illegal, since only court. In addition, a lawsuit was filed with the Sochi District Court in violation of the March 2016 of the order of the Prosecutor General's Office, according to which to go to court with lawsuits for the recognition of materials as extremist have the right only prosecutors of the level constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and statements of claim must be coordinated with the Prosecutor General's Office.

Sources

• Decision in civil case No. 2-1547/17 // Website of the Central District Court of Sochi. 2017. July.