Ukraine Was Right to Stay for Netanyahu
When dozens of diplomats walked out of the UN General Assembly on Thursday just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the podium, Ukraine stayed firmly in its seat.
And that was right.
Despite occasional real friction between Kyiv and Jerusalem, those are circumstances. The real issue is that, for Ukraine, Israel is not just another country caught in a distant border dispute, but something connected to the understanding of where one belongs, not just Aliyah.
Russia has been trying to erase our identity since the times of Kyivan Rus’, which had nothing to do with Russia. They try to tell us that we never existed, that somehow we are merely an extension of them and nothing more.
But that is not even remotely true, which is why, for many in Ukraine, Israel is a reference point for belonging.
Jewish political and religious ties to the land long predate the modern State of Israel. The ancient Israelite and Judean kingdoms, the establishment of Jerusalem as a capital, the Roman province of Judaea, and the Jewish revolts against Rome are cold, hard historical facts. They are a matter of archaeological record, not just divine providence. Even Jewish and Muslim scriptures acknowledge the ancient Jewish connection to the land.
Fast forward to 1947. The United Nations proposed dividing Mandatory Palestine into two states: one Jewish and one Arab. The Jewish Agency accepted the partition. Palestinian Arab representatives and the surrounding Arab states rejected it completely.
Fighting broke out even before Israel officially declared independence on May 14, 1948. The moment that declaration was signed, armies from neighboring Arab nations invaded the former mandate.
When the dust settled after that war, Egypt controlled Gaza and Jordan controlled the West Bank. Jordan eventually absorbed the West Bank entirely, while Egypt ruled Gaza. During all those years of Arab control, no independent Palestinian state was ever established in either territory.
Why? Because creating a separate Palestinian state was never the actual objective of the invading armies. You can look up the historical records yourself.
So today, when countries like Canada and several European governments lecture the world that a two-state solution is the only path to peace and security, you have to ask what history they are reading.
The modern reality is equally clear.
Israel completely withdrew its military and forcibly removed roughly 8,000 of its own settlers from Gaza in 2005. They handed the territory over. The following year, Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections.
Then came Oct. 7, 2023.
Hamas and other armed factions invaded Israel, slaughtered roughly 1,200 people, and dragged 251 hostages back into Gaza. That single event triggered the current war.
The math is brutal but extremely simple.
If Hamas had not attacked on Oct. 7, Gaza would not be in ruins today. There would be no rubble and no mass casualties.
They had the land, and they had a choice.
They could have chosen simply to live and let others live.
