Not Nazis: Judeo-Nazis?

Not Nazis: Judeo-Nazis?
Judeo-Nazis?

Frankly, it sounds like a joke, right? I assure you, it's no laughing matter.

Ukrainian nationalists have asked President Viktor Yushchenko to open criminal proceedings against "judeo-Nazis" in Ukraine, singling out Chabad rabbis and the main work of Chabad hassidic literature, the Tanya.

Those involved with the accusations are tied to the Interregional Academy of Personnel Management (known in Ukraine by its acronym, MAUP). MAUP is a sizable college and unabashedly anti-Semitic publishing house.

MAUP recently presented a blacklist of "media and organizations who distribute and defend or support Jewish racism, Judeo-Nazism and Jewish organized crime in Ukraine." In June, its conference titled "Dialogue of Civilizations: Zionism as the Greatest Threat to Contemporary Civilization" attracted the likes of white supremacist and former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.

That's not all it has been up to. Only a few weeks ago in the eastern city of Dnepropetrovsk, two synagogues were vandalized.

Now, in case you do not know, Chabad is a large branch of Hasidic Judaism whose name is a Hebrew acronym for acronym for "ח Wisdom- ב Understanding- ד Knowledge". It was originally headquartered in the Russian town of Lubavitch, whose name means "town of brotherly love". Their aim is Jewish outreach, education, and revival, meaning they look for and recruit Jews who want to join them, encourage Jews to strengthen their commitment to Judaism, and assist in supporting the religious needs of hundreds of thousands of Jews worldwide. They are the originators of, and major players in, the Teshuva movement, which encourages Jews alienated from their religion to become more Jewishly aware and religiously observant. Jews are encouraged to study and works of charity and good deeds.

MAUP wants to keep Chabad out of Jewish schools and synagogues to stop the spread of "this misanthropic religious system."

MAUP may be the ultimate example of a group who needs to be told:
HEY! STUPID! THEY ARE NOT NAZIS!