New York, NY, June 28, 2006 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) praised the decision by the Ukrainian Education Ministry to close seven regional campuses of the notoriously anti-Semitic Interregional Academy of Personnel Management, known by its acronym MAUP.

According to reports in the Ukrainian press, the Ministry strongly criticized MAUP for requiring students to subscribe to its virulently anti-Semitic newspapers, "Personnel" and "Personnel Plus."

In a letter to Stanislav Nikolaenko, the Ukrainian Education Minister, Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director said: "We applaud your courageous stand.  A blow against MAUP and its xenophobic leadership is a move toward tolerance and democracy in Ukraine.

"We urge you to continue your bold efforts in order to ensure that MAUP is no longer able to spread its poisonous propaganda in the guise of education," Mr. Foxman added.

MAUP is the main center for anti-Semitic propaganda and publishing in Ukraine. Its Rector, Georgy Tschokin, was widely condemned for declaring solidarity with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent call to "wipe Israel from the map."

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.