MK to Ukraine: Election heralds new peak in anti-Semitism

Twenty Knesset members addressed Ukrainian leaders in a harshly worded letter on Wednesday, condemning the country's decision to let a politician accused of being a rabid anti-Semite run for president.

The letter, which was signed by members representing most of the parties in the Knesset, was addressed specifically to the Ukraine's president, Victor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

The letter spoke about the fear of a new "wave of anti-Semitism in the Ukraine that has come to a peak with the authorization of Ratushnyak, the current mayor of Uzhgorod, to run for President."

"[Ratushnyak] has the viewpoint of a Nazi. He denies the Holocaust, and has threatened the Jewish community. He caused an outbreak of hatred towards our people and the State of Israel," the letter says.

In his mayoral race, Ratushnyak blamed the Holocaust on Jews stealing German property and warned of the same thing happening in the Ukraine.