Nobel Prize Winner Vitaly Ginzburg Honored at JDC-Sponsored Community Center in Moscow

Recently, a celebration in honor of academician Vitaly Ginzburg, the 2003 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics, took place at the Nikitskaya Jewish Cultural Center in Moscow. Many renowned individuals from the cultural, scientific, business and political communities attended the festivities for Ginzburg, 88, who had been nominated for the prestigious award several times in his impressive career.

Popular national TV journalist Vladimir Solovyev led the program, which included a rendition of Schubert’s "Serenade" by the Moscow Conservatory Professor Naum Shtarkman. JDC-Moscow office Director, Shmuel Kessler, presented the honoree with a shofar. "This shofar is brought from Israel and represents a method to communicate with G-d," said Kessler. "A Jew addresses G-d directly and G-d presents him with special abilities; in the case of Ginzburg, a touch of genius." Kessler also noted that since Ginzburg does not attend synagogue, the shofar will give him a unique way in which to address G-d directly.

The audience greeted Ginzburg with a standing ovation.

The Nobel Prize laureate spoke briefly about the award and pointed out that lately it has been given mainly to the leaders of prestigious academic schools. Playing down the importance of the honor, Ginzburg added that after 30 years of being nominated, actually receiving the Nobel Prize was an accident for him. "If I had died some years ago and never received the Prize, would it have made me less of who I am?" he asked.

Despite being a self-proclaimed atheist, Ginzburg, who was born Jewish, shared some of his views on Judaism and Israel with the audience. He answered many questions, and admitted that as someone who had never struggled against religion, he envies those who are not atheists.

Celebration participants, including Jewish war veterans, warmly greeted Vitaly Lazarevich and presented him with gifts and flowers. The reception was followed by a banquet where guests were able to greet the great scholar in a warm and informal atmosphere.

The following are excerpts from Vitaly Ginzburg’s speech:

"…As a Jew, I can’t help but relate to the Jewish issues. At the same time, I do not have a clear understanding of why a rather small and long-suffering group of people is placed at the center of the world politics. The Jews have preserved themselves as a nation and resisted assimilation due to their devotion to Judaism. I am an atheist and internationalist, and do not think that the Jews are better than, say, the Arabs. I know neither Hebrew nor Yiddish, and my native language is Russian. By the way, I wish I knew both, but, unfortunately, I have no facility for languages.

… It seems as if I had no choice but to assimilate. However, the situation is quite different. I could never renounce my roots. What are the reasons for it? I do not know myself. No doubt, it is somehow associated with certain Jewish family traditions I witnessed as a child. Anti-Semitism has surely affected me. It is not as if I suffered from it myself, even though I was called 'zhid' many times. Nation-wide anti-Semitism that became so popular in Russia after World War II has also played its negative role. These factors together with some others, which are still not clear to me. Possibly, it’s determined at the genetic level that I will be a bearer of Jewish national feelings. It has nothing in common with nationalism, which to me means any nation’s superiority over others or the desire to justify and defend people 'of my own' I flatly reject such feelings. On the contrary, I feel shame and indignation when I come across a scoundrel Jew. It seems to be the most vivid expression of my Jewish nature. At the same time, I feel very happy to learn that a decent person is a Jew. For instance, I am happy that Einstein and many other outstanding people were Jews. At the same time, I can’t understand or explain these feelings.

… I am telling you this in order to make it clear why I am interested in Israel and its destiny. I am very happy about the existence of Israel where Jews are not treated as a minority, persecuted and humiliated. However, there are many things I dislike about Israel. I can't but mention the problem of clericalism. No doubt, the synagogue has always played a great role in Jewish history, both as a prayer house and a community center. Thus, I understand why religion is supported by the state; however, everything is good in moderation. The lack of unity and abuse of democratic privileges are serious negative features I found in Israel. Winston Churchill was right when he said that, 'democracy is nasty, but there is nothing better'.

… I think that the mere fact of Israel’s existence is now under threat. Its disappearance would be a catastrophe on the scale of the Holocaust. I am very indignant of the support Arafat and his gang is getting from the anti-Semitic and, once progressive, leftist groups in the West. It has nothing in common with my pro-Arab position. I am sure that Stalin or Hitler would have solved the problem of Israel, or at least the Palestine autonomy, in 48 hours – just by means of annihilation. Fortunately, such an approach is not possible today.

… In my opinion, it is necessary to establish two absolutely separate states. It is my conviction that Israel and Palestine should be isolated from each other. It is necessary to construct a non-transparent wall to divide them. It is impossible to use Palestinians as manpower in Israel.

… The problem of the Golan is absolutely artificial. I was there and saw the remnants of an ancient synagogue. Why do they treat it as 'initially belonging' to Syria? Syria attacked Israel and lost. There are no Syrians there now, so the loss of the Golan is the cost for Syrian aggression."