Ukraine tops agenda at Summit UIA
"Both sides are making a virtue out of the fact of how much they're protecting their Jewish communities..."
OPENING the first night of Summit UIA, the United Israel Appeal’s five-night online appeal program for 2022, senior Haaretz journalist Anshel Pfeffer briefed the event on the Ukraine hostilities. Jewish communities “are very used to being in what’s often war zones, there’s a lot of resilience”, he stated.
Both Russia and Ukraine “have in the past been notorious for antisemitism”, said Pfeffer, but since the 2014 unrest, “both sides are making a virtue out of the fact of how much they’re protecting their Jewish communities”.
He said Israel “has very good diplomatic relations with both Russia and Ukraine”. With large Jewish communities in both countries, Jerusalem is treading carefully. It is also weighing Russia’s military presence in Syria.
However, the US “is Israel’s number-one ally and therefore Washington expects Israel to be part of whatever coalition there is against Russia”, he noted.
Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, keynote guest on Sunday night, outlined Israel’s efforts to support Jews in Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, saying she and other Israeli ministers are helping Israeli citizens to return home.
But they are also working closely with Ukraine’s Jewish communities to offer the option of aliyah, and to provide general humanitarian aid to Ukrainians.
Describing the war in Ukraine as a “tragedy”, Shaked said Israel would conduct itself in a way that protects its national interests – and remains mindful of the welfare of sizeable Jewish communities in both Ukraine and Russia.
Shaked also spoke about initiatives to bring Israel and the Diaspora closer.
In a conversation session with UIA CEO Yair Miller and executive manager and shlichah Jasmine Malul, the Yamina MK recounted that Israel traditionally saw the Diaspora as a source of aliyah and funding.
“A few years ago, when Naftali Bennett was Minister for the Diaspora, it changed the equation – and we ask not only what the Diaspora can do for Israel, but what Israel can do for the Diaspora,” she said.
Some projects to further Israel–Diaspora ties have already begun, she said, specifically to strengthen Jewish identity, and a trial work scheme in Israel for Jewish people before they commit to aliyah, particularly in high-tech industries.
Shaked, formerly Israel’s justice minister, strongly advocates for curbing the powers of Israel’s Supreme Court, which has often ruled in favour of the rights of non-Orthodox Jewish streams.
She noted, “Some streams in the Diaspora think differently than what the government thinks, but I hope by talking to each other and understanding each other, we can bridge that gap.”
For more information or to make a donation, visit uiaaustralia.org.au
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