Putin Fiddled While Kiev Burned – Trouble for the Jews of Ukraine

As a Jew, it is a remarkable privilege to live in the United States, where we never question our safety. The fifty billion dollar Sochi Olympics are over.  Baruch Hashem.  Vladimir Putin showed the world Russia’s greatness and modernity.  But the past two weeks also brought upheaval in Ukraine.  Stories of rioting and bloodshed in Kiev vied with weather reports from Sochi for nightly news coverage.

But for Jews, the past two weeks have been filled with trepidation.  Historically Jews and Jewish communities’ knee jerk response to any political decisions is the standard: Is it good or bad for the Jews?  The tiniest tremble in the status quo can wreak havoc on Jewish life.  And so it is with this past week’s seismic rumblings in Ukraine.  What is happening isn’t and won’t be good for the Jews.

You might have to dig in the American & Israeli press to get the details in Ukraine.  That is why I wanted to give you a few words today on the situation, which we know is changing hourly.

·      The four Jewish day schools run by ORT in Kiev have hired armed guards to protect their students.  The cost of this is currently being paid by ORT, a world- wide Jewish organization that provides education and training. 

·      Director of the Federation of Jewish Organizations in Europe, Rabbi Menahem Margolin, has informed the Prime Minister and Defense Minister of Israel of a growing feeling of dread among Jewish communities in Ukraine in the last few days, as the anti-Semitic wave grows.

·      A fire bomb was thrown at a synagogue in Zhprozha,  250 miles east of Kiev.

·      Threatening messages targeted at Jews, such as a message telling the rabbi of Krivoy Rog that he must leave the city within 72 hours.

·      Kiev Rabbi Moshe Azman urged Jews to leave the country fearing they could become victims of the post-revolution chaos.

Ironically, many of the protestors that fought and died in Kiev were, in fact, Jews.  One of those who died was a Veteran of the Afghan war. He took it upon himself to train the protestors, after witnessing the cruel treatment of student protestors by the police.  Prior to a Jewish funeral, his body was brought to the Museum of Bukovinian Jewish History and Culture where over 10,000 people came to honor him.

I hope you will take it upon yourself to keep informed of the events in Ukraine.  It won’t be easy, since both Israeli and American politicians remain painfully silent.  Whatever happens next, it looks like it won’t be good for the Jews of Ukraine.  One emerging new party unfortunately is openly neo-Nazi.  Anti-Semitism has always been just below the surface in Ukraine, and now it is bubbling to the top. I would be remiss if I didn’t make the historical connection that not long ago, in 1941, over the course of only 2 days, 33,000 Jews were shot and killed just outside of Kiev, in a place called Babi Yar. Let us pray for good things for the Jews of Ukraine as a new government emerges, and be prepared to contribute to their assistance, if necessary.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rose