The Russian invasion of Ukraine early this year stirred up many different emotions for Jews around the world. The brutality of the attacks by the Russians was undeniable, but for many Jews, communal memories of the brutality of Ukrainians towards Jews, in the Czarist age and during the Holocaust, didn’t allow them to sympathize entirely.
At the same time, Ukraine has had a flourishing Jewish community for years, which was now under bombardment, and the head of the Ukrainian government, President Volodymyr Zelensky, is Jewish. Rhetoric from the Russians suggested that they were invading Ukraine to save the Jews from neo-Nazis, though the Russians themselves were employing neo-Nazis to carry out their savage attacks.
While many Jews around the world were dealing with mixed emotions, the Israeli government was dealing with its own conflicting impulses. Russian aggression was being condemned by countries around the world, but Israel has had a delicate relationship with Russia because of Russia’s engagement in Syria. Israel’s military actions in the skies over Syria have required coordination with the Russians, and condemning them or helping Ukraine could cause that to deteriorate.
That line that Israel has been trying to walk has gotten ever more precarious as Russia has continued its attacks on Ukraine and Ukraine has demanded more and more help from the international community—and Israel. Just last week, Ukraine said that they were expecting Israel to provide them with Iron Dome and other defensive anti-missile and anti-drone systems, including some that aren’t even operational yet. Israeli officials have made noncommittal expressions of support towards Ukraine, while expressing concern about Russia’s use of Iranian drones to attack Ukraine.
To wend our way through the complicated Jewish history in Ukraine and the complex politics that are bedeviling the Israeli-Ukrainian relationship, I spoke with Professor Jeffrey Veidlinger, a historian with deep expertise in the history of Ukraine and Jews in Ukraine, and Ambassador Zvi Magen, who served as the first Israeli ambassador to Ukraine.
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