Israeli Journal Publishes Letter by UJE Co-Director Rodal

The Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs published in its May 2014 issue "The Ukrainian Crisis and the Jews: A Time for Hope or Despair", an article by political scientist and Swiss diplomat Simon Geissbühler: https://ukrainianjewishencounter.org/media/simon-geissbuhler.pdf.

In this article, Geissbühler summarizes the events of the Maidan revolution in Kyiv several months earlier and concludes that Russia's characterizations of the Maidan protesters as antisemites and fascists are cynical propaganda. The article then examines the implications of the Maidan events for Jews in Ukraine and the extent to which antisemitism is a significant factor in contemporary Ukraine.

He sees two schools of thought – optimists who believe that a more democratic Ukraine with strong ties to the EU would be accompanied by greater respect and tolerance for minorities and protection of civic and human rights; and pessimists who believe that during times of instability and upheaval Jews tend to be scapegoated.

In an invited response, Alti Rodal, Co-Director of the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter, considers that the article, while basically sound, is off the mark in several respects – in its assessment of the extent and role of antisemitism in contemporary Ukraine and Jewish community leaders' perceptions in this regard; and in its portrayal of Ukrainian-Jewish relations, past and present. In her "Letter to the Editor", published in the September issue of IJFA (Volume 8 No. 3), Rodal addresses these questions. Her letter follows in full here.