Israelis for Ukraine — and vice versa: the premiere of the film "Parallels: Beyond Borders" in Tel Aviv

On 31 October 2024, the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv premiered the documentary film Parallels: Beyond Borders. The non-profit organization Israeli Friends of Ukraine carried out this large-scale project with the support of the Canadian charitable non-profit organization Ukrainian Jewish Encounter.

The film, conceptualized by director Daria Nor, took over a year to produce. From the very beginning, the film was planned as a story about Israeli initiatives to help Ukraine, but it turned into a story about the common challenges facing Ukraine and Israel and about the power of change that ordinary people can create.

Over thirty interviews were conducted with volunteers, diplomats, politicians, opinion leaders, and business representatives. Filming occurred in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Herzliya, Jerusalem, and Kyiv. The individuals spoke in various languages — Ukrainian, Hebrew, English and Russian.

The premiere began with a welcome speech by the Ambassador of Ukraine to Israel, Yevhen Korniychuk, who called Israeli Friends of Ukraine a flagship organization supporting Ukraine in Israel and praised its achievements for the decade 2014-2024. Ambassador Korniychuk also suggested creating a federation of all pro-Ukrainian organizations in Israel to strengthen their influence in Israeli civil society and among politicians.

After the screening, a lively panel discussion titled "Life in the Shadow of War" discussed the challenges facing Ukrainian and Israeli societies against the backdrop of two wars.

Military analyst Serhii Auslender, blogger Oleksiy Zheleznov, Davar journalist David Tversky, and painter and volunteer Zoya Sever participated in the discussion. Anna Zharova and Vyacheslav Feldman, co-founders of Israeli Friends of Ukraine, moderated the event.

Among the topics of discussion were establishing an exchange of military experience between Ukraine and Israel, the need for the constant presence of the topic of protracted wars in the media so that the audience does not forget about them, the importance of building relations between the two states both on a diplomatic and human level, new threats from the so-called the "axis of evil" that includes Iran, Russia, and their allies.

Zoya Sever noted that after the attack by Hamas terrorists on Israel on 7 October 2023, she "felt like she was in the second series of the movie," which she already knew from the tragic events in Ukraine since February 2022.

David Tversky talked about the enormous media effect of his Hebrew-language publication about women who were caught up in two wars at once — about refugees from Ukraine during the 2022 war who ended up in Israel during the Jewish state's war with terrorists in 2023–2024.

Oleksiy Zheleznov emphasized: "We do not need material assistance from Ukraine or marches in Kyiv in support of Israel — we will have enough at least political assistance in the form of Ukraine not voting against Israel in the UN."

Vyacheslav Feldman described his impressions: "This film is about ten years of work of Israeli Friends of Ukraine: aid, public diplomacy, explanatory work in Ukraine and Israel. And then a full-scale invasion in February 2022. And again — a sprint and a marathon at the same time. Humanitarian aid, rallies, bandages, first-aid kits, people. People are the most important thing. That's how the idea was born to make a documentary about Israel's aid to Ukraine."

Feldman also emphasized that "on 7 October 2023, our world changed again, forcing us to work on two fronts, not only helping Ukraine but also feeling the solidarity of Ukrainians with Israelis, who are also fighting for their independence and survival."

Text: Shimon Briman (Israel).
Photos: Israeli Friends of Ukraine, Facebook