Gornaya Karusel, a
sports and tourism
area on Mount Aibga in
Krasnaya Polyana that
will serve as a venue for
the 2014 Sochi Olympics
Jewish debate on Russian
Games center on human rights,
corruption, security.
Anna Damn Sharon
Money Siphoning?
JNS.org
International Olympic Committee mem-
ber Gian-Franco Kasper has claimed that
as much as a third of the record-high $50
billion price tag for the Olympics has been
siphoned off, while Boris Nemtsov, a critic of
Putin's government, told ABC News he has
evidence that Russian officials and busi-
ness executives stole at least $30
billion of the funds meant for
Olympics-related projects.
Levitov told JNS.org that
the Olympic sports venues
were hastily built and may
be hazardous to spectators
and players.
"The [Olympic] con-
struction was done by
migrant workers, many of whom
were sent back home without pay,"
Levitov said, adding that growing national-
ist and anti-immigrant sentiment has been
growing in the country in recent years.
Putin has denied allegations of Olympics-
related corruption.
"I do not see serious corruption instances
for the moment, but there is a problem with
overestimation of construction volumes,"
Putin recently told reporters, explaining
that some contractors had won tenders due
to low bids that they subsequently inflated.
"This price increase, it is sometimes due
to contractor's deliberate acts, and some-
times it is due to the fact that the profes-
sional valuation of necessary investments,
especially in mountain conditions, for a
mountain cluster, are not efficient enough,"
he said.
Putin's presidency has not been associ-
ated with the kind of state-sanctioned
anti-Semitism that was prevalent during
the Soviet era. But Levitov believes that "the
rise of state-sanctioned xenophobia and
anti-gay hatred ... as any intolerance, is
ultimately a threat to the Jews:'
International Paralympic Committee
(IPC) Editorial Manager Stuart Lieberman
— who will be reporting on the March 7-16
Paralympic Games, also taking place in Sochi
— disagrees with boycotting the Olympics.
W
ith the Winter Olympics
gearing up for its Feb. 7 start
in Sochi, Russia, the Jewish
debate on the Games mirrors the dis-
course taking place in the broader interna-
tional and athletic communities.
While some Jews say they
view the Olympics purely as
sport — with social or polit-
ical issues not factoring
into their evaluation — not
all can ignore Russia's con-
troversial "gay propaganda"
legislation, political deten-
tions, allegations of Olympic
corruption and the recent terror-
ist threats against the Games.
"I personally don't plan to attend or
follow the Games and actively encour-
age boycotting/not attending:' said Anya
Levitov, managing partner at Evans
Property Services in Moscow. Levitov, who
is Jewish, said the various sensitive issues
in Russia "make these Games anything but
an event to follow."
At the forefront of international criti-
cism leveled at the Russian government
in the months leading up to the Sochi
Olympics is the country's recent legislation
against "gay propaganda:'
Masha Gessen, a Russian-American
journalist and activist who is both Jewish
and openly gay, told ABC News that
the propaganda law, signed by Russian
President Vladimir Putin last June, bans
the distribution of information that could
harm children's development or encourage
them to accept alternative sexual relation-
ships.
"There have already been attempts to
remove children from lesbian couples. So,
basically, LGBT people [in Russia] have an
incredible amount to fear right now, espe-
cially if they have children," Gessen said.
Furthermore, while the law itself only bans
propaganda, there has been an increase in
anti-gay violence around the country.
42
February 6 • 2014
"I don't think you can be entirely separate
from politics [as it relates to the Olympics],
but I don't think you should be avoiding
countries for reasons like this," Lieberman
told JNS.org. Part of the value of the games
is "to inspire and excite the world, and to
instill change in society," he added.
Welcoming But Cautious
Sochi's Chabad-Lubavitch center is prepar-
ing to welcome an influx of Jewish athletes
and visitors to its 3,000-member local
Jewish community. Chabad has acquired
two temporary centers that will be staffed
by 12 rabbinic interns, and its staff has
equipped itself to prepare about 7,000
kosher meals over the course of the Games.
Rabbi Ari Edelkopf, the Chabad emis-
sary to Sochi, does not take a political stand
on any of the human rights or corruption
issues in Russia.
"I view my role in this community as a
spiritual one; I'm here to cater to the needs
of the Jewish community as well as to visit-
ing tourists," Edelkopf said.
"It is our goal as an organization that the
spiritual and religious needs of those living
and visiting Sochi are met, and hopefully
expanded," he said.
Edelkopf did, however, note that the
Sochi Jewish community is "in touch with
local officials and security experts" regard-
ing safety precautions, in light of concerns
that the Sochi Olympics may be a target for
terrorist attacks, particularly from Islamist
groups in the Northern Caucausus region.
In December, two suicide attacks killed
34 people in Volgograd, about 700 kilo-
meters north of Sochi. An Islamist group
from the Caucausus claimed responsibility
for the attacks.
Police have started to impose long-
planned restrictions of access into and
movement within Sochi. Up to 70,000 per-
sonnel will be patrolling the games, accord-
ing to some estimates.
Sam Kliger, the American Jewish
Committee's (AJC) director of Russian
Jewish community affairs, told JNS.org he
hopes Russia "will do its best to prevent
any attempt of terrorist acts during the
Olympics." A positive sign is that Russia
reportedly cooperates with the U.S. on
security issues, said Kliger, who also cited
rumors that Russian security cooperation
with Israel is also on the way.
Levitov, however, questions the publicity
surrounding security risks to the games.
"I personally view the widely publicized
threats of terrorist attacks simply as a PR
effort of Russian authorities," she said. "It
both creates pre-text for further attacks on
civil rights, more restrictions on freedom
of travel around the Olympic area, and
allows for excuses if something does go
wrong. Any mismanagement, infrastruc-
tural failures or collapsed buildings can be
explained by terrorism."
Like the IPC's Lieberman, some Jewish
groups see the Olympics as a way to pro-
mote tolerance and freedom.
"The Olympic Games have the potential
to mark a new direction in which there is
no discrimination based on race, gender,
handicaps or sexual orientation," B'nai
B'rith International said in a statement.
"The Olympics are a microcosm. While
we expect athletes from every nation to
have the right to compete fairly, a societal
commitment to tolerance and acceptance
should be applied to every aspect of society"
AJC's Kliger pointed to Russian President
Putin's recent political gestures, such
as the releases of oil tycoon Mikhail
Khodorkovsky and the members of the
Pussy Riot band from prison, as a positive
sign for the country ahead of the Games.
Kliger told JNS.org he is encouraged by
recent declarations by a number of Russian
officials that there will be no discrimina-
tion against any group or individual [at the
Olympics], including LGBT people, whatso-
ever," and other "signals of goodwill coming
from the Russian government indicate that
Russia is much more interested in conduct-
ing the Games in the spirit of sports, peace
and cooperation:'
But Masha Gessen — who recently
released her latest book, Words Will Break
Cement: The Passion of Pussy Riot — told
ABC News that "people who have not had
the kind of international attention that those
people had are remaining in prison ... So it's
not a sign of an end to the crackdown.
"It's a very transparent and actually a very
cynical PR gesture," she said.
Levitov said the Sochi Olympics are very
important for Putin and his public image.
Because the Games are being marketed as
Russia's symbol of strength and prestige
among world powers, she believes it is
important for the games to show that none
of the human rights and corruption issues
in Russia belong in the civilized world.
"It would be great if leaders of the world's
leading democracies would demonstrate
their position or disapproval openly. I have
no hope that the Jewish leaders would, but
it would be great," she said.
"
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