Gorbachev Strongly Criticizes Anti-Semitism

Former Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev issued a ringing denunciation of anti-Semitism on Wednesday and said Russia is the “main field” for the struggle for democracy in the world.

“I resolutely reject anti-Semitism as one of the worst manifestations of national chauvinism,” Gorbachev said as he accepted an award in Manhattan from Yeshiva University. “National prejudice has deep roots. But that does not mean we should accept national prejudice as some kind of a norm, something inevitable.”

Gorbachev said that in the 20th Century whole nations became victims of genocide.

“The Holocaust in the years of World War II was one of the most terrible crises . . . . We must all understand democracy is more than just a political principle. Democracy also means a certain standard of political culture. Democracy means . . . moral values.”

Gorbachev told his audience at the Hotel Pierre that democracy will always be tested.

“We in Russia are just at the beginning toward a democratic state,” he said, adding that Russia’s is a “fragile democracy” and that it is necessary to see the danger threatening it. “Russia is the main field for the struggle for democracy on the international scene,” he said. “We need understanding and support.”

The former Soviet leader made his poignant plea for democracy on a day when he also toured the heart of capitalism, the New York Stock Exchange, and appealed to businessmen to invest in his nation.

Hundreds of traders cheered and applauded Gorbachev and former President Ronald Reagan when they walked together on the floor of the exchange. Gorbachev looked amazed at the hundreds of computer screens carrying up-to-the-second stock prices.

“I’ll always remember there are bulls as well as bears because we know a lot about bears,” Gorbachev quipped as he was presented with brass and marble bookends by stock exchange Chairman William Donaldson.

Later, speaking to the Economic Club of New York, the onetime leader of the former Soviet Union pleaded for help.

“Russia needs assistance to solve the most urgent and acute problems and to reach a market economy,” he said. “Such assistance would help consolidate the new democracy in my country. Today, the United States has before it an unprecedented, historic opportunity to help democracy flourish.”

Gorbachev told the businessmen that he would welcome a vote by the U.S. Congress to fully normalize relations with China. He will address a joint session of Congress in Washington today and then attend a dinner with President Bush at the White House.

Gorbachev is in the United States seeking support for a foundation he has created to contribute to democratic change in Russia.