By Vestnik Kavkaza
Russian experts and politicians have began calling the events happening in Ukraine a civil war, stating that a counterinsurgency operation against the Russian-speaking population is taking place there, and that while fascists continue to burn people alive there will be no order in Ukraine. However, not only Russians, but also representatives of other ethnic minorities are threatened by Nazis, especially Jews. The Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia says that if the conflict escalates in Ukraine, not only the Jews of Odessa, but representatives of other nations from other regions of the country will soon become refugees.
Michael Finkel, an Israeli rabbi, political scientist and writer, commented on the situation for Vestnik Kavkaza.
- What are the conditions for Jews in Ukraine?
- They are lamentable. This is not my personal opinion. This is an observation of Sochnut, the Jewish Agency for Israel, for repatriation, which is now urgently evacuating a large number of Jews from Ukraine, from the areas affected by war, anti-Semitism, judeophobia and vandalism to Israel. It is no secret that many synagogues were set on fire with Molotov cocktails, the Nazis from "Right Sector" burned a synagogue in Crimea, a synagogue was set on fire in Nikolaev, a synagogue in Kiev was set on fire. Swastikas were drawn on a huge number of Jewish tombstones. Many monuments were desecrated and destroyed at Jewish cemeteries, many rabbis, many members of the Jewish communities, synagogues and members of religious communities were attacked and beaten. It's a terrible situation, in fact, in its horror it is similar to the beginning of the 1930s, when the Nazis came to power. This is a terrible phenomenon. What is striking is that there is almost no mention of it in the West; they seem to be turning a blind eye, pretending that nothing is happening. Ukraine has become, in fact, similar to Lebanon, where on the one hand there is an official government and Hezbollah, a terrorist organization, which is official and unofficial at the same time on the other side. There is a regular army and there is the army of Hezbollah. In a similar fashion, there is a regular government and there are fascists. They seem to be as if they are in the government, but they are not. There is the regular army and there is the fascist army. Recall that in Germany there was the Wehrmacht and there were also SS units. Unfortunately, there are many similarities. A terrible rhetoric, very very bad things.
I see no way out of it. Jews are hostages in Ukraine, we hear many rabbis say that everything is fine, but this is only because they have to say that, because many of them have been threatened.
- Why has the situation changed so radically after the coup d'etat which took place in February?
- When countries are on the verge of economic collapse they always look for a scapegoat, for someone to blame. The scapegoat has not changed in the last 2,000 years - the Jews. Why look for new ones? An old ox makes a straight furrow. It's very simple. Especially because there are Jewish oligarchs, but the fact that there are several Jewish oligarchs does not make all the 300,000 Jews in Ukraine guilty.
Nationalist parties have come to power in Ukraine. Svoboda, Batykivschina, Right Sector, which is seeking power. The easiest way is to direct anger at Russians. In this regard, the Russian and Jewish peoples are in the same boat of hatred, anger, aggression and revision of the outcome of the Second World War, and so on and so forth.
- Why do Ukrainian officials deny instances of anti-Semitism?
- No one would say: look at me, I'm a thug. Every politician says: I'm a good person, I have white gloves, just like Mickey Mouse. It is very natural.
- How will the Jewish community in Ukraine protect their members against the aggression coming from nationalists?
- They cannot defend themselves, because they have no weapons or any other means for that. Synagogues, Jewish centers, kindergartens and schools have some guards, but they are certainly not enough and outnumbered, because they are facing huge gangs of Nazis. The only thing which is currently being done is very strong cooperation with Israel, overlooked by Mr. Sharansky, who is the head of the Jewish Agency for repatriation. There are regular flights. Hundreds and thousands of people have already arrived in Israel. Israel is helping with money and medications. If before there used to be a long bureaucratic hustle with documents such as evidence, when people had to prove that they had the right to immigrate to Israel, today they have turned a blind eye to people for so many things, to people whose documents are not fully in order, who cannot fully prove their origins, etc., this fact is ignored by many many people, many families, including a lot of mixed families with Russians, Ukrainians, etc are saved.
In general, it is a very difficult situation in Ukraine, and it is aggravated by great lies. The Ukrainian media produce lies, denying that all this is happening, and it is multiplied by the lies coming from the West.
- How would the situation in Ukraine develop for the Jewish people in the near future?
- If, God forbid, there will be no referendum, although I still hope that there will be one so that the South-East could choose their own destiny, independent of the fascist clique now in power in Kiev, I think that the situation will be bad, there will be nothing good, the Jews will leave for Israel, they will leave for other countries, many of them have relatives in Russia, they will move to Russia, but they will not stay here, many people will not stay here. If Ukraine becomes a normal, good country, then, probably, their future will be with it.
But a lot of people are abandoning their apartments, closing them, gathering their simple belongings. Jews there are mostly poor. There is a myth that all Jews are billionaires. This is complete nonsense. There are a handful of oligarchs, but all the other people earn $200, maybe $300 a month. They have children in their arms, they are being threatened, there are fascist slogans and swastikas and SS emblems on people's shoulders. How can they live there?
All of it is happening while the country will soon celebrate the Day of Heroes of Ukraine. Let's say who these heroes are. Among them is Bohdan Khmelnytsky, who killed 100,000 Jews in pogroms, a beast; there is Petlyura, who killed at least 100,000 Jews, it was described even by Mikhail Bulgakov. He has a short story, "I Killed," it talks about who the Petlyurists were. And in Israel there is a monument to Samuel Shvartsburd, who killed Petlyura and was acquitted in 1926 by a French jury.
There is Shukhevych, an SS officer and Bandera, a fascist and an SS officer. These people are considered heroes of Ukraine.
Who else are the heroes of Ukraine? Veterans of fascist units: Nachtigal, the Galicia SS Division, almost all security personnel, who guarded and killed people in the concentration camps such as Ivan Demenyuk etc. They also were the followers of Bandera philosophy. They were beasts, fascist beasts. And there is a holiday about such heroes, an official, national holiday. This is the Ukraine, which we have today.
