Euroasian Jewish News

EAJC General Council Chairman Josef Zissels

Josef Zissels on Tolerance: “We work more for the future than the present”

The Ukrainian newspaper "Day" ("Den'") published an interview with the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) General Council Chairman, Executive Vice-President of the Congress of National Communities of Ukraine (CNCU) Josef Zissesl, dedicated to International Tolerance Day.
Josef Zissels commented on data collected through sociological questionnaires that study the level of social distance towards representatives of different ethnicities in Ukrainian society, and also spoke on different CNCU and EAJC programs aimed at fostering tolerance in society.
"We work more for the future than for the present. It is very hard to rehabilitate an adult, if he already has negative stereotypes and prejudices against another religion or nation. It is not easier to work with children, but it has more perspective. These stereotypes are not fully formed in children, and it is possible to erode the negative stereotypes and foster positive attitudes instead." The EAJC GC Chairman noted.