International Humanities Institute Faces Liquidation Again

03.02.2004.

Union of Belarusian Jewish public organizations and communities spread a statement about preparation procedures to liquidate the International Humanities Institute. The order to liquidate the IHI was prepared by the rector’s office of the Belarusian State University, under which IHI operated.
Let us remind the readers, the situation around IHI aggravated in the fall of 2003, when the Minister of Education ordered to dismiss the activities of the IHI. However, as the result of the compromise, the Institute was turned into the BSU Faculty of Humanities and Arts. The University Board adopted this option. Now this decision of the Board is considered invalid.
“The Minister’s order is not only ungrounded, it does not have any motives. This leads to the conclusion, that the IHI liquidation is caused by rough subjectivism of the Ministry staff”, -- says the statement. The statement was signed by head of the Council of Jewish Communities of Belarus Leanid Levin.
The International Humanities Institute was created under the auspices of the international Jewish organizations and receives regular financial assistance from them. The institute staff has set an objective “not only to train specialists with higher education, but also conduct research in the sphere of Jewish history, culture, and issues of ethnic interaction”.
“Taking into account absence of state secondary schools or any other education establishments with emphasis on Jewish culture, liquidation of the International Humanities Institute will mean absolute liquidation of state Jewish education in Belarus,” – state the Jewish organizations.

Yadviha Matskevich