The leader of the Svoboda parliamentary faction, Oleh Tiahnybok, has denied the existence of anti-Semitism in his party.
"I have repeatedly said that the Svoboda is not an anti-Semitic organization. If you have any comments on our views, go to court. But nobody will, because everyone understands that even biased Ukrainian courts cannot pass any sentence against the Svoboda because we do not violate Ukrainian laws," Tiahnybok said on TVi Channel on Wednesday.
Earlier, MP Ihor Miroshnychenko of Svoboda called Mila Kunis, a Hollywood actress of Ukrainian descent, a "zhydovka" which is an offensive term for a Jew in Ukrainian.
[W.Z. In my opinion, Mr. Tyahnybok could be more correctly accused of "anti-Satanism" rather than "anti-Semitism". "Zhydovka" or "zhidovka" is a Russian word presumably pejorative in Russian. "Zhydivka" is the normal non-pejorative Ukrainian word for a "female Jew", which has been used for centuries.]