Standing with Israel Means Standing with Ukraine

On a cold Friday morning in February, I welcomed Professor David E. Fishman on my podcast. Professor Fishman is a professor in Jewish History at The Jewish Theological Seminary and publishes a substack on the war in Ukraine from a Jewish perspective.

With Ukrainians rallying behind their Jewish President in the face of Russian aggression and images of Orthodox Jews wrapping teffilin in Ukrainian military garb etched in my head, my most pressing question was when did this all become possible?  When did the Jews of Ukraine embrace their home country and vice versa?

Less than a century ago, Ukraine had witnessed one of the worst massacres of Jews during the Holocaust, Babi Yar. While these atrocities were perpetrated by the Nazis, the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists or ONU, perhaps motivated by the false hope of Ukrainian independence under the Nazi regime, participated in many atrocities against the Jews under the Third Reich.

While 1941 differs from today, vehement antisemite, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, and to a lesser extent, Stepan Bandera, still play an integral role in modern day Ukraine’s Cossack lore. Yet, in a rather interesting contrast, Volodmyr Zelenskyy, despite war fatigue, remains Ukraine’s most popular politician. President Trump and Vice President Vance’s public haranguing of Zelenskyy in the oval office, has only made him more popular among Ukrainians.

This all leads back to my original question at the outset. When posed with this question, Professor Fishman definitively stated “2014.” This was the year of the Maidan Revolution, when President Viktor Yanukovych backed out of a political association and free trade agreement with the European Union and opted to draw closer to Russia and protests ensued. This led to Yanukovych’s ouster and preceded Russia’s annex of the Crimea and support for pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas.

During the protests, many prominent speakers were featured, including many Jewish speakers and even a klezmer band performed. Amidst the waving of Ukrainian and EU flags, the message was clear, the Jewish people stand with Ukraine in the face of Russian tyranny.

Ukraine also understood, for it to one day be fully integrated into the European Union, it needed to fully embrace western ideals. This included protecting the rights of minorities within its borders.

In the United States, to many on the right, President Zelenksyy and Ukraine are met with such irrational disdain akin to what Israel represents to the left.

President Trump undoubtedly has been one of the Israel’s strongest advocates and has sought to stamp out the rabid antisemitism on university campuses which was often downplayed and tolerated by his predecessor. As Trump’s rhetoric shifts on Ukraine and its leader, so has his supporters. However, it is imperative that those who support Israel stand with Ukraine.

Yes, Israel represents the aspirational fulfillment of a sovereign state and safe haven in our ancestral homeland, but it also represents something more. It represents western and democratic ideals in a struggle against depraved barbarity and radical extremism.

If we are morally consistent, we must recognize that Ukraine’s fight against Russian totalitarianism is a just cause worth supporting. Yes, Ukraine struggles with rampant corruption, but it is ultimately a democratic country whose people seek to embody western ideals. Russia, on the other hand, hosted Hamas leaders shortly after October 7.

In a struggle for civilization, everything is connected. As my podcast with Professor Fishman comes to a close, he leaves me with a striking reminder, “whatever strengthens Russia hurts Israel.”