Peloni: Only amid the successful pro-Ukrainian propaganda campaign might this story be surprising to anyone. Recall the reports made by Eduard Dolinsky, executive director of the Kyiv-based Ukrainian Jewish Committee. Antisemitism in Ukraine is not a point of fiction or Russian disinformation, it is a well featured part of Ukraine’s history which is celebrated even to this day. Indeed, many will recall the scandalous event of Zelensky saluting an SS Panzer Nazi, Yaroslav Hunka, in the halls of Canada’s parliament, but how many are aware that the Ternopil Regional Council in Ukraine bestowed the horrifically honorific ‘Yaroslav Stetsko’ Metal on Hunka as well? Or that this award was named after Stephan Bandera’s colleague who stated “I insist on the extermination of the Jews and the need to adapt German methods of exterminating Jews in Ukraine”? Ukraine has a Nazi problem, and ignoring this fact will not change the reality which comes from it. These facts might appeal to some among the Woke Right, but it should truly disgust decent people of all walks of life. Interestingly, while Zelensky failed to reproach his salute to Hunka in Canada, he also stood silent while Hunka received the Stetsko Metal of Honor. Also where is Zelensky’s well crafted photo op visiting the synogogue in Kryvyi Rih, highlighting and condemning this attack on the Jews of Ukraine? It won’t be coming any time soon.
Incident is only one of several recent antisemitic attacks in Ukraine
“Beit Shulman” is the center of the Jewish community and the main synagogue in the city of Krivoy Rog. Photo by – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0)
A synagogue in the Ukrainian city Kryvyi Rih was attacked on Saturday night with a Molotov cocktail. The incident, which is only one of several recent antisemitic attacks, has left the local Jewish community concerned about growing levels of antisemitism in Ukrainian society.
The city’s police have initiated a probe into the antisemitic attack. Ukrainian security forces were quickly dispatched to inspect the synagogue, and local authorities have vowed to apprehend and punish the perpetrators.
The city’s rabbi Liron Edri, who is also a Chabad emissary, stressed that the incident constitutes an assault on the city’s Jewish community.
“This was a direct attack on the Jewish community,” Edri said in an interview with the Jerusalem Post.
“The vandalism was clearly targeted,” he continued. “There was nothing random about it,” he added.
“Thankfully, the reinforced windows held up, and the firebomb didn’t make it inside. But the message was loud and clear,” the rabbi warned.
Elia Goldberg, the Chabad World Assistance’s Ukraine security coordinator, revealed that the synagogue was equipped with a security system thanks to assistance from the Jewish Agency’s Security Fund.
“The shielding we installed saved lives,” Goldberg stated. “It’s a reminder that preemptive protection is not just important – it’s essential,” Goldberg added.
While local authorities have promised to apprehend the perpetrators, Edri and other local Jews are concerned that there is a growing antisemitic trend in Ukrainian society.
“We’re starting to fear that this may not be isolated,” Edri warned. “There seems to be a growing pattern of coordinated attempts to intimidate and harm Jewish communities in Eastern Europe.”
However, the Chabad rabbi vowed that the Jewish community will not be intimidated by antisemitism.
“We won’t be intimidated,” he said. “Light will overcome darkness. We will keep our doors open, and our community will continue to gather and pray.”
He concluded by praising the quick response from local authorities.
“The police arrived immediately and took the matter seriously,” Edri stated. “They’ve promised to investigate and bring those responsible to justice.”
Two years ago, in April 2023, Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli called on the ambassador of Ukraine to address the problem of antisemitism in the country after the city council in Kyiv looked to name a street after a Nazi collaborator and Schutzstaffel (S.S.) official, Volodymyr Kubiyovych.
“During [World War II], Kubiyovych headed the social welfare and the economic committee (the Ukrainian Central Committee), which published in August 1942 an officiant notice to deport Jews and anyone who hid them,” Chikli wrote at the time.
“It is of the utmost importance of me to reach out to you personally about this problematic incident,” Chikli added about the street-naming.
The antisemitic incidents in Ukraine are happening amid the ongoing war with Russia.
In December 2024, Ukraine’s Jewish-born President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended a local Hanukkah event.
“We have a unique country – today, we celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. It’s very good that in Ukraine we can all live together, all fight the darkness, as Shmuel Kaminetsky said,” Zelensky stated.
“In Ukraine, people have a nature that makes them inherently light. So I’m sure that, as you say and as Hanukkah says, the light will definitely overcome the darkness. I am sure of that,” the Ukrainian president added.
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