(8) Chief Rabbi of Ukraine. Although Rabbi Bleich is introduced by 60 Minutes as the "Chief
Rabbi for the Ukraine," he is in fact an American from Brooklyn, New York, perhaps unqualified
to hold such an exulted title for several reasons: (1) Rabbi Bleich is a Hasidic Jew, and so
perhaps not authorized to speak for other Jewish sects. (2) Rabbi Bleich is newly-arrived in
Ukraine carrying his full load of American-engendered prejudices, and seemingly unaware of the
history of Ukraine, or even of the contemporary situation of Jews in Ukraine. (3) Rabbi Bleich,
as of the date of the 60 Minutes broadcast, spoke some Russian, but negligible Ukrainian. Some
Ukrainians might think that one prerequisite for the post of "Chief Rabbi of Ukraine" would be
fluency in Ukrainian.
The title of "Chief Rabbi of Ukraine," then, may be viewed as being self-proclaimed and
presumptuous, and as carrying no standing within Ukraine or anywhere else. In crediting the
title, Morley Safer was just blowing up Rabbi Bleich's credentials to give his words more
weight.
(9) An observation or a hypothetical case? Rabbi Bleich is shown saying, "Obviously, if someone
- you know? - screams 'Let's drown the Russians in Jewish blood!' there isn't too much love lost
there."
Yes, if anyone did scream such a thing, we might safely infer that the screamer was motivated by
a hatred of both Russians and Jews (even though we wouldn't be able to conclude much about
anybody other than the screamer). But in fact Rabbi Bleich does not claim that anybody ever did
scream such a thing. The 60 Minutes viewer is left with the impression that Rabbi Bleich was
reporting something that he witnessed, but his wording commits him to nothing more than
contemplating a hypothetical case.
(10) Lenin's Jewish ancestors. After interviewing the editor of Lviv's daily For a Free
Ukraine, 60 Minutes cuts to Rabbi Bleich saying "There's an article that came out just two weeks
ago where they tried to prove that Lenin was really Jewish...." The impression created is that
this article was published in For a Free Ukraine, and that For a Free Ukraine is a major
newspaper in Western Ukraine's major city.
In fact, however, "there's an article that came out" does not precisely inform us where the
article was published. Perhaps it was published in Ukraine's equivalent of a supermarket
tabloid. Perhaps it wasn't published at all, but only circulated in pamphlets. Perhaps it's
just a rumor and nobody can produce such an article. But even if published in For a Free
Ukraine - so what?
A higher standard of journalism than that exhibited by 60 Minutes would have reported who was
the author of this article, what position he holds in Ukrainian society, how good were his data
and his arguments, where was the article published, about how many people may have read it, does
anyone believe it, does it alter anybody's attitudes toward contemporary Jews even if they do
believe it? - But of course such questions weren't answered, and we are left able to conclude no
more than that Rabbi Bleich wishes us to believe in the existence of a virulent Ukrainian
anti-Semitism.
The Bleich statement is representative of a large number of statements in which events are
referred to obliquely, indirectly, vaguely - and on this basis, the viewer is invited to jump to
some strong conclusion. "I get the impression from people...." says Mr. Safer. Now there's a
lazy substitute for investigative reporting! What people? Why can't we see these people for
ourselves? Perhaps they are just a couple of cronies of Mr. Safer's whose company he prizes
because they are as bigoted as himself. And what do we care what one or two of Mr. Safer's
friends think? 60 Minutes should show its viewers the data on which these people are basing
their conclusions and let the viewers draw their own conclusions. But this is not what 60
Minutes did - its broadcast was short on data and long on instructions on how to feel.
(11) Morley Safer, genetic theorist. Mr. Safer tells us that "The Church and Government of