Alexander Semenovich Brod (born 1969; russian: Александр Семёнович Брод) is a Russian

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

. He was a member of the

Public Chamber of Russia The Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation (russian: Общественная палата Российской Федерации), sometimes shortened to Civic Chamber (russian: Общественная палата), is a consultative civil s ...

between 2008 and 2012 and is a director of the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights. He is a member of the Expert Council at the

Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

of Russian Federation.

Early life and career

Brod graduated from the Philology and Law faculty of the

Samara State University Samara State University (russian: Самарский государственный университет) was a classical multi-faculty university and a leading educational institution of higher education in Samara Oblast, Russia. It consists ...

. Since 2001 he has been the director of the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights. The Bureau's declared aims include combating

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

and

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. In 2004, the Bureau considered filing a lawsuit against

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...

, the director of ''

The Passion of the Christ ''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film produced, directed and co-written by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, mother of Jesus, and Monica Bellucci as Mary M ...

'', and the film’s distributor in Russia. Brod said "several Jewish organizations and individuals told us that the film fuels ethnic hatred and cultivates xenophobic myths about the Jewish people’s guilt for crucifying Christ". He also approved Russian military action against Georgia in 2008, saying that Russian troops prevented a genocide there.

Awards

In 2003, he received the ''Award for Contributions to the Development of Jewish Life in Russia'' from the

Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia The Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FJCR; russian: Федерация Еврейских Общин России, ) is a Russian religious organization that unifies communities of Orthodox Judaism, mostly of Chabad Hassidic movement. It ...

for his human rights activity.На защите прав человека
2003. lechaim.ru

References

External links

BiographyMoscow Bureau for Human RightsMoscow Bureau for Human Rights
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brod, Alexander Semenovich 1969 births Living people Russian human rights activists Russian Jews Members of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation Samara State University alumni