{"id":2646,"date":"2026-04-26T02:55:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T02:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/?p=2646"},"modified":"2026-04-26T02:55:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T02:55:13","slug":"zelensky-signs-law-criminalizing-antisemitism-making-it-punishable-by-up-to-eight-years-in-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/2026\/04\/26\/zelensky-signs-law-criminalizing-antisemitism-making-it-punishable-by-up-to-eight-years-in-prison\/","title":{"rendered":"Zelensky signs law criminalizing antisemitism, making it punishable by up to eight years in prison"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The new law – signed on Holocaust Remembrance Day – amends Article 161 of the Criminal Code on the violation of citizens’ equality based on their race, nationality, religious beliefs, or disability.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Ukraine's<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on during an interview with Reuters, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, March 25, 2026.(photo credit: REUTERS\/VALENTYN OGIRENKO\/FILE PHOTO)ByMATHILDA HELLER<\/a>APRIL 15, 2026 15:19Updated: APRIL 15, 2026 18:22<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a> has signed a new law criminalizing antisemitism and making it punishable by up to eight years in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new law \u2013 signed on Holocaust Remembrance Day<\/a> \u2013 amends Article 161 of the Criminal Code on the violation of citizens\u2019 equality based on their race, nationality, religious beliefs, or disability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This now features the words and \u201cmanifestations of antisemitism,\u201d according to the draft law seen by The Jerusalem Post<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part one of the article relates to deliberate actions aimed at inciting hatred or manifestations of antisemitism and at humiliation of honor and dignity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incitement to antisemitism will now be punishable by a fine of \u201c200 to 500 tax-free minimum incomes of citizens,\u201d restriction of liberty for up to five years, or imprisonment for up to three years. In Ukrainian law, \u201ctax-free minimum incomes\u201d refers to a fixed legal unit called the \u201cnon-taxable minimum income of citizens,\u201d a standardized amount used to calculate fines typically treated as 17 Ukrainian hryvnias (UAH) per unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"KYIV'S
KYIV’S CHIEF Rabbi, Yonatan Markovitch, with his congregation. (credit: JCC CHABAD COMMUNITY IN KYIV)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The second part of the article details punishments for violence, deception, and threats. Here, someone may get a fine of 500 to 1,000 tax-free minimum incomes of citizens or imprisonment for two to five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any of the antisemitic actions<\/a> set out in parts one and two, if committed by an organized group or causing serious consequences, is punishable by prison sentences of five to eight years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine antisemitism law originally submitted in 2021<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The draft law was submitted in 2021 following the signing of a separate law called \u201cOn Preventing and Combating Antisemitism in Ukraine.\u201d The idea was that the two should work in harmony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn Preventing and Combating Antisemitism in Ukraine\u201d outlined forms of antisemitism and established legal responsibility, but did not introduce criminal punishments. Some of the stated manifestations include the denial of the right of self-identification to persons of Jewish origin, as well as calls for, or the justification of, the murder of Jews or harm to them due to radical ideological beliefs or extremist religious views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is an important and timely step,\u201d Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Azman said on Tuesday. \u201cUkraine is sending a clear message: Hatred, discrimination, and incitement to violence have no place in Ukrainian society and never will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added, \u201cA strong state is one where the dignity of every person is respected. And today, Ukraine is confidently moving in this direction!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United Jewish Community of Ukraine<\/a> expressed gratitude to the author of the draft laws, Maksym Buzhansky, for his \u201csystematic work on the adoption of the legislative initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new law – signed on Holocaust Remembrance Day – amends Article 161 of the Criminal Code on the violation of citizens’ equality based on their race, nationality, religious beliefs, or disability. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on during an…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","wpcat-1-id"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2646"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2647,"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2646\/revisions\/2647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfawbn.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}