Interregional Academy of Personnel Management

Interregional Academy of Personnel Management ( _uk. Міжрегіональна Академія управління персоналом (МАУП), translit.: "Mizhrehional'na Akademiya upravlinnya personalom", English acronym: MAUP, also IAPM or IRAPM) is a private higher education institution in Ukraine. Founded in 1989 as a non-state establishment, the MAUP consists of a preparatory department, a lyceum, college, institutes and postgraduate school and has over 50,000 students in many branches throughout the country. Since 1991, MAUP has been publishing the "Personnel" magazine and the "Personnel Plus" newspaper.

In the recent years, the MAUP became imbued in controversies because of evident antisemitism in their publications and conferences.

Features and affiliations

The MAUP is the largest non-state higher education institution in Ukraine. It is accredited by and has the license of the Ministry of Education of Ukraine to carry out educational process in ten higher education specialties with the right to give out diplomas of state and international standards.

The MAUP has published in excess of 300 study plans and manuals and 200 books for a variety of educational programs. The "Personnel" magazine is registered by The Presidium of the State Accreditation Committee as a supplement on economics, law, psychology, pedagogy, philosophy, social and political sciences. MAUP's editions have been recommended for use by The Ministry of Education of Ukraine. It is an affiliate member of the International Personnel Academy and European University Continuing Education Network (EUCEN). [ [http://www.eucen.org European University Continuing Education Network] ]

The MAUP asserts that "Pursuant to the results of Sophiya Kyivska, the Rating of Higher Education Establishments in Ukraine (2000), and International Open Popularity and Quality Rating (1998-2000) IRAPM was recognized as the best non-state higher education establishment in Ukraine." [ [http://www.iapm.edu.ua/inst_s/avr/en-inf.html PRESIDENTIAL UNIVERSITY OF THE INTER-REGIONAL ACADEMY OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (IRAPM) ENROLLS FOREIGN STUDENTS TO THE INTERNATIONAL PREPARATORY INSTITUTE (IPI) LICENSE AA № 005574] ] (However it should be noted that private educational institutions are rare in Ukraine, as almost all educational institutions are owned by the State).

Controversies

In the recent years, the MAUP became imbued in controversies because of evident antisemitism in their publications and conferences. The MAUP maintains that their activities can be classified only as anti-Zionism, but its critics point out [http://www.adl.org/main_Anti_Semitism_International/maup_ukraine.htm Ukraine University of Hate. A backgrounder on MAUP (Interregional Academy of Personnel Management)] (ADL) November 3, 2006] traditional antisemitic propaganda traits that have no connection to Zionism, such as religious antisemitism or solely blaming the Jews for the Russian October Revolution or the Holodomor of 1932-1933.

During October 6, 2004 hearing of the "Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 2004 and Designations of Countries of Particular Concern" before the Committee on International Relations of the United States Congress, the MAUP was called " [t] he most troubling development" in Ukraine and it was asserted that it receives "significant funding from Arab and Muslim states". [ [http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/intlrel/hfa96357.000/hfa96357_0.HTM 2005 ANNUAL REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 2004" AND DESIGNATIONS OF COUNTRIES OF PARTICULAR CONCERN] . HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION. OCTOBER 6, 2004. Serial No. 108–154]

Manifestations of antisemitism

In April 14-19, 2005 the MAUP weekly newspaper "Personnel Plus" published an open letter to President Yushchenko, Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn and Supreme Court of Ukraine Chief Justice Malyarenko calling for a parliamentary investigation into the "criminal activities of organized Jewry in Ukraine." The newspaper claimed that the letter was signed by more than a hundred scientific, civic, and political leaders. [http://www.ncsj.org/AuxPages/120105MAUP.shtml#NCSJ Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko Condemns Anti-Semitic Academy "MAUP"] (NCSJ) December 06, 2005]

On June 3, the MAUP sponsored a one-day conference entitled "Zionism As the Biggest Threat to Modern Civilization" attended by the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan in the United States David Duke. [ [http://www.maup.com.ua/news/news.php?idn=166 Діалог цивілізацій: сіонізм – найбільша загроза сучасній цивілізації] (MAUP) June 6, 2005] The "Kyiv Post" newspaper called the gathering "a disgusting orgy of racism and hatred."In August 2005, the MAUP awarded Duke with the Ph.D. degree. [ [http://www.adl.org/learn/extremism_in_america_updates/individuals/david_duke/david_duke_20051103.htm David Duke awarded doctorate by Ukrainian university; continues anti-Semitic attacks] (ADL) November 3, 2005]

After the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's threat to "wipe Israel off the map" (though, "nota bene", the translation of this phrase has been an issue of some controversy among commentators, with some arguing that the original had less threatening a connotation than the idiomatic English phrase "wipe off the map") evoked international condemnations, on November 4, 2005 the MAUP issued "a decisive protest against large-scale campaign, organized by Zionists, against Islam Republic Iran and its President Mahmud Ahmadi-Nedzhad... where he quoted the words of the Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini about future death of Israel and the USA."

In his November 22 statement, Georgy Shchokin, the MAUP's President who also heads the "International Personnel Academy" (IPA) and the Ukrainian Conservative Party (UCP), combined traditional Christian antisemitism with New antisemitism and failed to mention that the UN General Assembly Resolution 3379 of 1975 (equating Zionism and racism) has been revoked in 1991 by the UNGA Resolution 4686:

"We'd like to remind that the Living God Jesus Christ said to Jews two thousand years ago: 'Your father is a devil!' ... Zionism in 1975 was acknowledged by General Assembly of UN as the form of racism and race discrimination, that, in the opinion of the absolute majority of modern Europeans, makes the most threat to modern civilization. Israel is the artificially created state (classic totalitarian type).... Their end is known, and only the God's true will rescue all of us. We are not afraid, as God always together with his children!"

On December 1, 2005, the MAUP held a conference "The Jewish-Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 – the Source of the Red Terrorism and the Starvation of Ukraine". [ [http://www.antisemitism.org.il/frontend/english/viewarticle.asp?id=16286&itemtype=1 Ukraine – An Antisemitic Conference at the MAUP Academy] (antisemitism.org.il) December 1, 2005]

In the March 2006 issue of the "Personnel Plus", an article [ [http://www.personal-plus.net/article.php?ida=453 "Murder Is Unveiled, the Murderer Is Unknown?"] by Yaroslav Oros ("Personnel Plus", March 2006 issue. No. 9/160)] revived false blood libel accusations from the infamous 1911 Beilis Trial by mischaracterizing the verdict as the jury recognizing the case as ritual murder by persons unknown even though it found Beilis himself not guilty, when in fact the defense had entirely rested on demolishing the concept of Jewish ritual murder."Blood Accusation: The Strange History of the Beiliss Case", Samuel, Maurice, Alfred A. Knopf, 1966.] , "Царская Россия и дело Бейлиса", Tager, A., Moscow, 1934, [http://ldn-knigi.lib.ru/JUDAICA/Navet.htm] ] , "Scapegoat on Trial: The Story of Mendel Beilis - The Autobiography of Mendel Beilis the Defendant in the Notorious 1912 Blood Libel in Kiev", Beilis, Mendel, Introd. & Ed. By Shari Schwartz, CIS, New York, 1992, ISBN 1-56062-166-4 ] A week earlier, MAUP leaders had visited the grave of Andrei Yuschinsky, the Christian boy who had been the victim in the case. [ [http://jta.org/page_view_breaking_story.asp?intid=1573 Ukrainian school raises ritual murder charge] (JTA)] [ [http://www.antisemitism.org.il/frontend/english/viewarticle.asp?id=16778&itemtype=1 Ukraine – Blood Libel at the MAUP University] (antisemitism.org.il) February 22, 2006]

At a conference held at the MAUP Academy in Kiev, the heads of the MAUP accused "Rothschild's Soldiers" of the genocide of the Ukrainian people. [ [http://www.antisemitism.org.il/frontend/english/viewarticle.asp?id=17599&itemtype=1 Ukraine – Antisemitic Statements at an Academic Conference at the MAUP Institute] (antisemitism.org.il) May 30, 2006]

On August 15, 2006, an article on the MAUP's website denounced the Bnai Brith as "the Jewish Gestapo". [ [http://www.antisemitism.org.il/frontend/english/viewarticle.asp?id=18659&itemtype=1 Ukraine – An Article Denouncing the Bnai Brith Organization on the MAUP Academy's Internet Site] (antisemitism.org.il) August 15, 2006]

Reactions

On November 21, 2005, the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) called on Ukrainian authorities to publicly denounce and revoke the accreditation of one of Ukraine’s largest private universities. The SWC associate dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper charged that " [b] y supporting Ahmadinejad’s threat to Israel, MAUP’s consistent Jew-baiting now culminated in an endorsement of genocide. While such utterances may be free speech in the Ukraine [sic] , as a proper it is long overdue for the leadership of the Ukraine [sic] to exercise their democratic rights and obligations to denounce such statements and censure those who use academic cover to target a minority and to endorse potential mass murder." [Simon Wiesenthal Center. News Release. 21 November 2005. [http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=fwLYKnN8LzH&b=245494&ct=1616509 Retrieved: 28 November 2006] ]

On December 5, the President of the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council (UACC) Ihor Gawdiak issued a statement "to convey our profound shock and distress concerning the horrific statement made on 4 November by the heads of the International Academy of Manpower Management (MAUP) in support of the Iranian President’s statement that Israel should be wiped off the map." [ [http://www.ncsj.org/AuxPages/120105MAUP.shtml#USUKR2 Statement by Ihor Gawdiak] , President of the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council. December 5, 2005] [ru icon [http://jn.com.ua/Antisemitism/amer_1512.html MAUP Leadership Statements Shock Ukrainians] (Jewish News) May 07, 2007]

On the same day, the office of the President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko issued a statement which said in part:

"The Head of State is worried that anti-Semitism spreads throughout Ukraine. He condemned the Interregional Academy of Personnel Management (IAPM) as an institution that systematically publishes anti-Semitic articles in its publication "Personnel". Yushchenko said he had left the supervisory council of the journal to protest against this inhumane policy. He called on professors of the IAPM to respect citizens of all nationalities and confessions and to "stop rousing national hatred." [ [http://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/data/1_4728.html President condemns anti-Semitism] Press office of President Victor Yushchenko of Ukraine. December 5, 2005] [uk icon [http://www.korespondent.net/main/44973/ Ющенко засуджує МАУП за антисемітизм - Yushchenko condemns MAUP for antisemitism] (Кореспондент.net) December 5, 2005]

Yushchenko once sat on MAUP's board, and Foreign Minister of Ukraine Borys Tarasyuk was honorary director of one of MAUP's subdivisions until 2005. Yushchenko resigned from MAUP several years ago, following its criticism by Jewish organizations. [ [http://jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2370640 XENOPHOBES TO CONTEST SEATS IN UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT] by Oleg Varfolomeyev (The Jamestown Foundation) January 9, 2006]

On December 6, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) urged the United States House of Representatives to delay approval of Ukraine’s graduation from the Jackson-Vanik amendment. The ADL National Director Abraham Foxman wrote: "We expect more from democratic states than we do from totalitarian ones. This year alone has seen a steep increase in acts of violence and vandalism against Jews across Ukraine. There have been attempts to ban everything from Jewish organizations to Jewish holy texts. The university MAUP... actively promotes anti-Semitism of the most vicious kind." [http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASInt_13/4851_13.htm Press Release: ADL Welcomes Ukraine's Strong Condemnation of University Fomenting Anti-Semitism] (ADL) January 25, 2006]

On December 7, the United States-Ukraine Foundation (USUF) condemned "... the November 4, 2005 statements by the Interregional Academy of Personnel Management (MAUP) as hateful, virulent and having no place in the public discourse in Ukraine or anywhere else. MAUP’s anti-Semitic statements supporting the Iranian President's recent call for Israel to be 'wiped off the map' was an affront to decency that provoked the unequivocal international condemnation it deserved." [ [http://www.usukraine.org/news.shtml U.S.-Ukraine Foundation] ]

Speaking on national television on January 23, 2006, Foreign Minister of Ukraine Borys Tarasyuk "strongly condemned the anti-Semitic actions of MAUP University" and confirmed that "having exhausted all efforts to convince MAUP leaders to drop their unlawful and wrongful actions" he broke off contacts with University a year ago. In its press-release, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine accused MAUP of breaking Ukrainian law, noting "persistent incompliance with requirements of state licensing rules for universities, failure to abide with legally binding decisions of the State Accreditation Commission", qualifying it as "a general negligence of law and a desire to pursue activities inconsistent with the status of Higher Education Institute in Ukraine".

This move was welcomed by the UACC, [ [http://www.brama.com/news/press/2006/01/060127uacc_MAUP-condemnation.html Press release: BRAMA, Ukrainian American organization [UACC] gratified by official condemnation of anti-Semitic institution in Ukraine] January 27, 2006] National Conference on Soviet Jewry (NCSJ), [ [http://www.ncsj.org/AuxPages/012506MAUP.shtml Ukraine Gov't Condemns MAUP, Calls for Action Against Anti-Semitism] (NCSJ) January 25, 2006] the ADL, and other human rights advocates.

The leader of Vaad in Ukraine Joseph Zissels called MAUP "the most influential center of anti-Semitism in the country." [ [http://www.analitik.org.ua/author/46076f2011c07/ Anti-Semitism in Ukraine] by Vladimir Matveyev (Analitik - Kiev Center of Political Research and Conflictology) March 29, 2007]

The latest rebuke came from Ukraine's High Court which ruled against MAUP as it sought to sue the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine for publishing articles "about MAUP activities directed against the Jewish community and Zionism". [ [http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/107803.html Ukraine high court dismisses Jewish case] , "JTA", 31 March 2008.]

See also

*Racism and discrimination in Ukraine
*History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union
*History of anti-Semitism
*Zionology

External links

*en icon [http://polit-terror.info/pages/2005/bu/Engl_02.pdf "Anti-Semitic mood heats up in Ukraine" (PDF, June 2005, p.44.)] Section in the "Bulletin of United Social Democratic Party of Ukraine".
*en icon [http://www.adl.org/main_Anti_Semitism_International/maup_ukraine.htm "Ukraine University Schooling in Anti-Semitism"] Report of the Anti-Defamation League NGO
*uk icon [http://www.maup.com.ua/ MAUP official website]
*uk icon [http://personal.in.ua/ "Personnel"] MAUP publication
*uk icon [http://www.personal-plus.net/ "Personnel Plus"] MAUP publication
*uk icon [http://www.ria.ua/view.php?id=32787 Critical analysis of the literature published by MAUP]
*uk icon [http://www.maup.com.ua/news/news.php?idn=166 "Zionism As the Biggest Threat to Modern Civilization"] MAUP conference
*uk icon [http://www.personal-plus.net/article.php?ida=287 "A plot against MAUP"] , MAUP's open telegram in the "Personnel Plus" newspaper
*ru icon [http://www.cn.com.ua/N360/resonance/scandal/scandal.html "Order at MAUP: Read Racist Literature"] by Sergey Kovtunenko at the "Stolichnye Novosti"
*ru icon [http://mignews.com.ua/articles/189248.html "MAUP diplomas are not recognized in Poland"] at MigNews

References