Among the works for sale is “Spring Time” by Yuri Padal.
On April 3, at Art Works Gallery, Art in Aid of Ukraine was launched. Artists and communities in Vancouver, standing in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, came together for the opening of the exhibit and sale. The opening featured local speakers, as well as guests via video link from Toronto and Ottawa. Among the speakers were members of Parliament, the consuls general of Ukraine and Poland, Ukrainian Canadian Congress leadership, and others.
The fundraiser is a non-partisan grassroots event highlighting the role of community engagement; the humane power of art and the critical importance of defending the democratic process. Donations and partial proceeds from artwork sales will go to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and the Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver.
The featured artist, Yuri Padal, was born in 1949 in Kyiv, and studied under the direction of Glushenko. Padal now lives in Vancouver. His works connect to the universal energies of beauty, colour, freedom and positive balance.
For other participating artists, visit artworksbc.com. Art Works Gallery is located at 1536 Venables St., and the fundraiser runs to April 27.
In announcing the results of the 2021 Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver annual campaign, campaign chair Lana Marks Pulver expressed deep gratitude for the generosity of donors. Acknowledging the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, she said, “Yet, we have also seen some impressive achievements. Organizations have innovated faster and better. Volunteers have dedicated countless hours, pitching in wherever they are needed. And donors have given more generously than ever before.
“Together, we have generated $11.16 million for our community!”
The annual campaign raised $9.52 million, while $1.64 million was raised for additional support, which includes additional support for special projects, community recovery, emergency relief and donors’ multi-year commitments to Federation’s international partners.
In addition, the community raised more than $388,000 for B.C. flood relief during the campaign period. And the community has come together to generate more than $850,000 so far for Ukraine relief.
“We can all take pride in this remarkable achievement, which reflects our collective commitment to our Jewish values of tzedakah and tikkun olam (repairing the world), and our responsibility to one another,” said Marks Pulver.
“From the start of the pandemic, Jewish Federation took the lead in getting our community through to a brighter future. A successful annual campaign is a big part of our ability to do that and, as chair of the campaign, I am deeply grateful for your support.”
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The Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University is pleased to announce a major gift of more than $5 million dollars from the estate of a Vancouver resident, to establish the Institute for Medical Research, Israel-Canada (IMRIC) Hub for Addiction Research at Hebrew University.
Prof. Rami Aqeilan, chair of IMRIC (photo from CFHU)
The mission of the IMRIC Hub for Addiction Research is to bring about wiser policies, better care and new treatment avenues for those struggling with addiction. This new program will focus on medical research relating to addiction, providing insights into the physical and chemical aspects of addiction, its prevention and treatment.
A silent addiction epidemic affects nearly 11% of adults (more than 615,000) in Israel. In any given year, one in five Canadians experiences a mental illness or addiction problem. Addiction can include both substance addiction (alcohol, drugs and other substances) and compulsive sexual behaviour, problematic use of pornography and problematic use of the internet. Moreover, addiction and mental health issues go hand in hand and must be addressed in tandem. Each year, addiction costs the Israeli economy approximately seven billion NIS and causes untold peripheral damage to families and communities.
“As a result of this generous gift, we at IMRIC are able to engage our best researchers in several specific research projects with diverse perspectives on addiction,” said Prof. Rami Aqeilan, chair of IMRIC. “Additionally, the hub will promote national and international interaction and foster collaboration with Canadian researchers.”
Each year, we revisit the same Torah portions but, while the words remain the same, our understandings change based on what is happening in our world or in our lives. The exodus story, the story of Passover, remains as relevant as ever, as people in many parts of the world are being oppressed, are stateless or are living amid war.
As Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, citizens of that besieged country are seeking refuge in neighbouring states. It does not appear, at present, that Jewish Ukrainians are suffering any more or less than any other citizens of that state. However, history has shown that whenever and wherever upheaval occurs, it almost inevitably affects Jewish people in some particular way.
The age-old question, “What does it mean for the Jews?” is an acknowledgement that events that ostensibly appear unrelated to Jewish people specifically will have unique consequences for Jews.
As Russia’s invasion has faced an unexpected reply from the Ukrainian military and people, the risk of Vladimir Putin being backed into a corner opens the door to worrying potentials. He has already made threatening noises about chemical weapons and, even more worryingly, nuclear weapons – the very suggestions being an untenable line to cross for any nuclear-capable world leader.
It should be remembered, but it has been too infrequently mentioned during this crisis, that Ukraine once had the third-largest nuclear arsenal in the world, a legacy of the dismantling of the Soviet Union. In 1994, Ukraine was persuaded to transfer its entire arsenal to Russia to be decommissioned with the promise from the Western world that we would ensure that country’s security in return. As Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky continues his virtual global tour, prevailing upon the West to provide more military aid, we should remember that he is asking for the Western world to fulfil the promise it made to his country less than three decades ago.
We should also not need reminding that the existence of a Jewish state is a modern miracle that provides a place of refuge, mere decades after the absence of a homeland led to Jewish history’s worst cataclysm. There are some 200,000 Ukrainians who would qualify for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return, and planeloads of Jewish Ukrainians are making their way to Israel, fleeing a modern-day pharaoh.
Of course, the land of milk and honey is, in reality, a real-world country facing an enormous range of problems. Recent terror attacks have some people fearing a third intifada or, at least, a season of upheaval like we saw last year when violence erupted. In turn, that hostility spread worldwide, with spikes in antisemitic incidents around the world, including in Canada. While Jews are securely ensconced in the Promised Land, Israelis still seek liberation from the figurative enslavement by terrorists and their supporters. And, at the same time, Palestinians also do not have the freedom they desire and deserve. This latest violence does not serve either people’s dreams of peace or justice; it further enslaves us to cycles of justifications of more violence and pain.
Meanwhile, Jewish families in North America are excited to return to comparatively normal seders and celebrations after two years of pandemic. This is itself a form of liberation. As we reenact the ancient exodus at our seder tables, we will hope for and commit ourselves to a world where all who are oppressed find freedom. This is not a rote rereading and it is not a theoretical wish. In a world with so many challenges and dangers, the story of escape from bondage remains as relevant and urgent as ever.
Again and again the world does not learn. The ego of dictators and high-ranking politicians is inflated, bordering on insanity. There are many conflicts in the world, but it is Russia’s war on Ukraine that I’m thinking of at this moment.
Who is suffering from all this? The mother with her scared child in her arms, the father who is forced to stay behind and fight, the old and frail, the children in the orphanage who have nowhere to go, the 36-day-old baby boy who does not have yet an identification paper, a name of his own. Who is suffering? The expecting mother who is running, injured, between the ruins of the hospital; the children, scared, hiding in the bomb shelters, hearing explosions and not knowing if they will have a home to return to.
Again and again, people are running in fear, looking for safe shelter. All around them, shelling, sirens, bombardment, hundreds of tanks parading on main city streets, explosions, ruins and distraction.
All this is taking me back decades to another time, the Second World War: Romania, 1940. It triggers memories of my early childhood journey of displacement, fear, cold and hunger. Then 2 years old, my family and I – and thousands of other Jews from northern Romania – were driven out of our homes to the unknown. For one year we were forced to live in a ghetto in a city called Czernowitz (now in Ukraine) in terrible conditions.
After one year, the ghetto was dissolved and we were forced for days to walk by foot in deep mud, carrying bundles of our meagre belongings on our backs toward an area called Transnistria. Long lines of frightened people, old and young, crying babies, the sick and those with disabilities. Those who could not walk were left behind or shot. The Romanian or German soldiers riding on their horses where shouting and beating up anyone who did not comply with their orders.
They forced us to walk from village to village until we arrived in a place called Djurin, where we settled down. There, we lived for four years in terrible condition. My father was taken from us to a work camp. My mother collected dry wood bunches from the nearby forest and exchanged them for food with the Ukrainian women who felt sorry for us. Toward the end of the war, my mother was injured in a bombardment when the Germans were retreating.
I am glad that I was too young to remember most of my fears, but I can’t escape the ripples of horror from those times. They are engraved in my psyche, in my pores. I tremble now when I see the young children on the TV screen with their big, scared eyes. Maybe they are hungry, cold or frightened. I wish I could hug and console them and feed them with my special chicken soup.
“Earth Don’t Cover Their Blood” by Sidi Schaffer, Gesher Project, 1998, mixed media.
For us, there was no place to seek shelter, nobody wanted us, and nobody cared. The world was silent to our plight. We were denied refuge from most countries. We should remember the destiny of the St. Louis ship, which carried Jewish refugees trying to escape the terror of the war in Europe but was not allowed to enter Cuba, the United States or Canada. The ship had to return to Germany, where 254 of the passengers were murdered by the Nazis. Nor should we forget the ship Struma’s disaster – it was torpedoed and sunk with 800 Jewish refugees, who were on their way from Romania to Palestine. We should not forget Canada’s Frederick Blair, who was in charge of the immigration branch at the time, or then-prime minister William Lyon MacKenzie King’s immigration policy “None is too many,” just when the Jews of Europe were in despair and looking for shelter.
War is evil, then and now and always. Still, I can’t stop being amazed at the differences I see in the world’s reaction of kindness and compassion toward the Ukrainian refugees these days. Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe, Poland, Romania and Germany – all have opened their gates with outstretched arms to help the tired mothers, scared children, orphans, the sick and the old. The world’s reaction shows me that the world is changing – including Canada – and that gives me hope.
Israel is bringing in thousands of people from the war zone. They give humanitarian assistance wherever needed. Synagogues in Ukraine, and Jewish congregations from around the world, help bring people to safety, like the Odessa orphanage children that were taken to Berlin.
Still, millions of people suffer because of politics and a madman who wants to expand his territory and his pockets.
I wish that we had in our camps some support, food and warm clothing, medical attention and safety. For us, the world was blind. Only the ones who survived live to tell.
We child survivors are now home for one another.
Sidi Schafferwas born in northern Romania. In 1940, she and her family were put into a ghetto in Czernowitz and, one year later, they were driven toward a concentration camp named Djurin, in northwestern Ukraine. There, in terrible conditions, they survived for four years. In 1945, they returned to Romania and, in 1959, they immigrated to Israel, where she received her degree in art education. In 1975, with husband David and their three sons, she came to Canada. In Edmonton, she went back to her studies and graduated with a bachelor of fine arts from the University of Alberta. In 1998, she and her family settled in Vancouver. Schaffer is a proud member of the Child Survivor Group of Vancouver.
Left to right: Lucien, Grisha, Carole, Leanne and Svetlana at the airport in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2019. (photo from Carole Lieberman)
My husband Lucien and I have been following the horrific invasion of Ukraine by Russia with particular interest. In 2019, we had the wonderful opportunity of traveling to Kyiv to meet Lucien’s first cousin, Grisha Lieberman, and his family.
Grisha’s father Sam had immigrated to Canada in 1923 and, after spending several years on the family farm in Rumsey, Alta., and later in Calgary, unfortunately Sam returned to Russia in 1928 to escort his parents, who were unhappy in Canada.
Sam had planned to return to Canada, but, after the war, ended up in the Gulag for close to 10 years. At age 57, truly a broken man, Sam met and married Rosa, a Jewish woman, and their son Grisha was born in 1958. We searched for the family for many years and finally contacted them in 2018.
Following our weeklong stay with Grisha and his wife Svetlana in May 2019, we formed a close bond. We are in touch with them often and enjoy regular Zoom visits despite language differences. Our daughter Leanne traveled with us on our 2019 visit, and we were all welcomed warmly.
Svetlana and Grisha have one son, Stanislaus, who is a lawyer in Kyiv. Their daughter, Tina Karol, a famous singer, performs at large concerts in Ukraine and travels the world to perform. Her tour to several U.S. cities, scheduled for this month, was recently canceled.
We follow details of the attack by the Russians on Ukraine closely and value every message that we receive from our cousins. Svetlana messages us regularly and writes that they are in the city of Ivano-Frankivsk, in western Ukraine, where they are staying in an apartment and have access to limited items. They did not want to leave Kyiv and did so only at the last minute by evacuation train. They categorically refuse to leave their cherished land of Ukraine.
She writes: “Fascist Russia wants to destroy our state, just as Hitler tried to destroy other countries in 1941. But Ukraine gives a worthy rebuff to the aggressor…. We believe that Ukraine will win back its freedom and that we will welcome you back to beautiful Kyiv.” She writes that they are getting used to the air raid strikes that occur two or three times each day. Their son Stanislaus is with them in western Ukraine, now in possession of a gun that was provided to him by the government to aid in Ukraine’s defence.
Their daughter Tina left Kyiv before the Russian aggression. When we were there, we clearly remember Tina telling us that she kept a suitcase packed in case of an urgent situation. She is currently in Warsaw; her 16-year-old son goes to school in England.
Last week, we watched with tears as Tina was interviewed on CNN. And, at a recent charity concert in Lodz, Poland, called Together with Ukraine, Tina was one of the performers. It was touching to see her sing with 7-year-old Amelia, who had previously sung “Let it Go” while hiding in a Ukrainian bomb shelter, before making it safely to Poland. Tina performed at a No War telethon attended by the leaders of European countries, the United States and Canada. And, on March 28, she performed in Israel at a charity concert, with funds being raised for medical needs.
We continue to pray for our family and for all Ukrainians, and for a peaceful resolution and a free Ukraine.
Carole Lieberman, a longtime Vancouver resident, is originally from Montreal. She is a mother of three, grandmother of four, and has enjoyed selling Vancouver real estate for 32 years. You can read her article about her family’s 2019 visit to Ukraine at jewishindependent.ca/meaningful-family-trip-to-kyiv.
Hebrew University academic Samuel Barnai said Ukrainian unity extends beyond political parties and politicians, such as President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured here), and the war is viewed as a great patriotic fight for Ukraine. (photo from president.gov.ua)
In the July 12, 2021, essay “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians,” Russian President Vladimir Putin declares, “I am confident that true sovereignty of Ukraine is possible only in partnership with Russia. Our spiritual, human and civilizational ties formed for centuries and have their origins in the same sources. They have been hardened by common trials, achievements and victories. Our kinship has been transmitted from generation to generation. It is in the hearts and the memory of people living in modern Russia and Ukraine, in the blood ties that unite millions of our families. Together we have always been and will be many times stronger and more successful. For we are one people.”
This quote from Putin’s 2021 essay was shared by Prof. Yitzhak Brudny at a March 15 Hebrew University of Jerusalem webinar focused on “the ideological sources of the Russian-Ukrainian War.” The webinar featured Brudny, a professor of political science and history, and Samuel Barnai, an adjunct lecturer at the European Forum and at the HU’s Rothberg International School.
Brudny explained that Putin went even further in his claims just over a year after that essay. On Feb. 21, 2022, three days prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Putin stated that “modern Ukraine was entirely created by Russia, more precisely, by the Bolshevik, communist Russia. This process began almost immediately after the 1917 revolution” and “Ukraine never had a tradition of genuine statehood.” Later in the speech, Putin points to Russia as being the main enemy in the eyes of the United States and NATO.
According to Brudny, these statements show a denial by Putin of Ukraine’s right to exist without an alliance with Russia and that the current Ukraine state is a “forepost of NATO” run by an “illegitimate, puppet government.” In Putin’s mind, he can justify the war because he sees it as rectifying an historical injustice caused more than a century ago, as well as remedying the security issues posed by a NATO-friendly state as Russia’s neighbour.
Brudny outlined the more recent history of Ukraine, from its 1991 independence from the Soviet Union (during its dissolution) to the present day. Ukraine stands in stark contrast to Russia in that it has accepted democratic electoral processes. Russia, meanwhile, has grown increasingly authoritarian and views a democratic state positioned between it and NATO countries, especially those that were part of the former Eastern Bloc, as a threat.
Barnai spoke to Russia’s military goals at the outset of the current conflict: destruction of Ukrainian air forces, destruction of Ukraine’s military headquarters, the besiegement of the capital Kyiv and the creation of a puppet government.
“Now that we are talking on the 20th day of the war, none of the targets have been reached,” said Barnai. “How can this be explained? In my opinion, one of the main reasons is the consolidation of Ukrainian society. There is widespread support for the president [Volodymyr Zelensky] and the government, which was not even the case two months ago. There is also support for accession to the EU and NATO, even in the Russian-speaking parts of Ukraine, which were less sympathetic to joining these alliances before,” he said.
In Barnai’s view, the present state of Ukrainian unity extends beyond current political parties and politicians, such as Zelensky, and the war is viewed as a great patriotic fight for Ukraine.
Barnai added that Putin, who has led Russia since Dec. 31, 1999, may have fallen victim to his own propaganda, “that Ukrainian-ness is an artificial tool to cause damage to the Russian people.”
The belief that Ukrainian culture is dangerous and must be eliminated runs deep in the Russian collective consciousness. Barnai gave several historical examples that illustrate this point. There was the suppression of the Ukrainian language by Czar Peter I in 1720. In 1763, Catherine the Great issued a decree banning the teaching of the Ukrainian language at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. In 1876, Alexander II prohibited the printing of all Ukrainian literature within the Russian Empire. And, in 1914, there was a decree by the last czar, Nicholas II, prohibiting the Ukrainian press. Despite a range of views on other historical matters, these and other Russian leaders shared a common desire to suppress Ukrainian cultural identity.
Barnai explained that there are close ties – historical, religious, and personal – between Russians and Ukrainians, and many have family connections to both countries. He said the real threat to Putin today is not NATO or the European Union, but “the success, even if it is limited success, of political and economic reform in Ukraine.”
This threat, Barnai concluded, plays out in the lack of true participation the Russians have in the political and economic processes of their country. “The main struggle of Putin for the last 22 years,” said Barnai, “has been to deprive Russians of their rights in the political arena.”
Sam Margolishas written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.
בשנתיים האחרונותחוויתי אירועים קשים שכמעטו ולא היו כדוגמתם לאורך כשנות חיי, בישראלועתה בקנדה. כשאני חושב על מה שעבר עלי מאז חודש מרץ לפני שנתיים בדיוק, זה נראה לי הזוי- ממש מדע בדיוני
קודם כל החלה אז במרץ אלפיים ועשרים מגפת הקורונה לצבור תאוצה בכל העולם. תחילה שמענועל כך בסין ולא חשבנו כי המגפה יכולה להתפשט גם למערב ובעצם לכל העולם. אני זוכר היטב אתהנסיעה שלי לישראל לבקר את הורי בתל אביב, בסוף מרץ לפני שנתיים. מצד אחד הם רצו לראותאותי מצד שני חששו שמה אדביק אותם בקוביד, כיוון שטסתי מונקובר, עצרתי למספר ימים בברליןוהמשכתי משם לתל אביב
מאוד שמחתי שהצלחתי לראות את ההורים וכרגיל לשון אצלם בבית. לא שיערתי אז שזו שתהיהבעצם, הפעם האחרונה שאראה אותם פיזית. אבי כבר דעך מכל הבחינות, התקשה ללכת ואףהזיכרון שלו כבר לא היה טוב. לאחר זמן מה הבנו שהוא לקה בדמנציה
באותו שבוע קצר בתל אביב נפגשתי עם מספר חברים טובים עמם אני שומר על קשר שנים רבות, למרות שאני גר בוונקובר כבר שנים רבות. כן הספקתי באותם ימים בתל אביב אף להצביע בבחירותהכלליות בישראל, תוך תקווה להחליף את ראש הממשלה הנצחי של ישראל, בנימין נתניהו. זה לאקרה אז אלא רק לאחר כשנה
הביקור בישראל ישאר בזכרוני לזמן ארוך כי כאמור זו הפעם האחרונה שבה ראיתי את הורי
אני חזרתי לוונקובר בדיוק שבוע לפני שהשמיים נסגרו והופסקו הטיסות למספר חודשים. המגפההחריפה והחיים שלנו השתנו מקצה אל קצה. מי היה מאמין שתופעה מוזרה ולא מוכרת זו תימשךשנתיים תמימות. כל שגרת החיים השתנתה, הפסקנו לצאת למקומות ולצרוך תרבות, נצמדנולטלוויזיה, רכשנו מסכות, חומרי חיטוי לידיים ועוד מוצרים התקפים לעיתות של מגפות
עסקים רבים נפגעו קשות מהמגפה בהם מקום העבודה שלי – חברה המספקת הלוואות למי שלאיכול להשיג אותן באחד הבנקים המסחריים, בשל קרדיט גרוע. בזמן החופשי שנותר בידי והוא היהבשפע התחלתי לצעוד מדי יום שעות ארוכות ברחבי העיר ונקובר והסביבה. מכוני הכושר היוסגורים ולכן החלטתי שאני חייב להיות פעיל כדי לשמור על כושר סביר, וההליכות עשו את שלהן
בתחילה ראיתי איך ונקובר הפכה לעיר מתה, ולאט לאט לקראת הקיץ היא החלה קצת להתעורר, אם כי לא באופן שאני רגילים לו. למזלנו מחוץ בריטיש קולומביה נפגע פחות מהמגפה לעומתאזורים אחרים בקנדה, כך שהצלחנו לשמור על חיים שפויים פחות או יותר
בגלל המצב הקשה של החברה באני אני עובד נאלצנו לפנות לבית המשפט לקראת סוף שנתאלפיים, ולבקש הגנה מפני נושים. אני נרתמתי לעזור להנהלת החברה ושוחחתי ארוכות עם בעליאגרות החוב שלנו, כדי לעודד אותם לחתום על הסכם חדש, שיאפשר את המשך קיום החברה. אכןזה קרה ויצאנו לדרך חדשה, באישור בית המשפט, חברה רזה יותר, עם הרחבה פחות חובותועובדים, ועתיד שנראה טוב יותר
במקביל לקראת סוף אלפיים ועשרים מצבו הבריאותי של אבי הידרדר מיום ליום וחששנו ממהשעתיד לקרות. הוא נפל כל הזמן, הפסיק לקחת כדורים, זכרונו בגד בו, ומצבו החמיר. במהלךחודש בפרואר אלפיים עשרים ואחד הוא נאלץ להתאשפז בבית החולים איכילוב הסמך לביתו. שדםלצערנו נדבק גם בקוביד וידענו שהסיום מתקרב. הוא החזיק מעמד כשבועיים עד שנכנע למגפההקשה הזו. בגיל תשעים וארבעה חודשים הוא נפטר
אני לא הצלחתי להגיע להלוויה בגלל מגבלות הקוביד וראיתי את האירוע הקשה הזה באמצעות זום. לא היה זה פשוט לראות איך קוברים את אבא שלי כל כך מרחוק, באמצעות מסך המחשב
הורי היו נשואים שבעים ואחת שנים והיה מאוד קשה לאמא להתרגל לכך שאבא כבר לא איתנו. למרות החשש הכבד של אחי ושלי, אמא לאט לאט חזרה לעצמה ופיתחה לעצמה שגרת חייםחדשה ללא אבא. כנראה שהרצון האדיר שלה לחיות הוא שהוביל אותה. אמא למרות שמלאו להתשעים ושתיים המשיכה להיות מאוד פעילה מבחינה ספורטיבית, חברתית ותרבותית. האופיהאופטימי שלה עזר לה רבות, להמשיך ולחיות לבד. היא הצליחה לקבל עובדת זרה פיליפיניתשתעזור לה בעבודות הבית, וכדי שלא תרגיש בודדת בלילות. ניהלתי לא מעט שיחות טלפון עםאמא ושמחתי שהיא חוזרת לעצמה, צוחקת, נפגשת עם החברות שלה ועם בני המשפחה השונים. היא בחרה בחיים והחיים והכל נראה מתנהל כשורה
כאן בוונקובר עברנו אשתקד את הקיץ החם ביותר בתולדות בריטיש קולומביה ובעצם בקנדה. החוםהיה בלתי נסבל ולצערנו מאות קשישים וחולים נפטרו. אני לשמחתי יש לי מזגן בבית כך שיכולתילהמשיך בשגרת החיים הרגילה ולעבוד כרגיל. רק בערבים הייתי מוציא את האף החוצה
במהלך חודש נובמבר אשתקד חטפנו כאן מכה נוספת ממזג האוויר: כמות אדירה של שטפונותשגרמו נזק אדיר למחוז, הנאמד בכארבעה מיליארד דולר. כבישים, גשרים, בתים ותשתיות רבותנעקרו ממקום כמו אבנים של דומינו שנופלות אחת אחרי השנייה
אני נערכתי לנסיעה לישראל לבקר את אמי בסוף חודש נובמבר. בגלל תקנות הקוביד הקשות בכלמדינה, הכנתי מסמכים רבים, הצלחתי לקבל את החיסון השלישי של פייזר לפני הזמן ונרשמתילבצע בדיקות קוביד בוונקובר ובתל אביב. שבוע לפני הנסיעה נדהמתי לדעת שווריאנט חדש שלהקוביד – אומיקרון משתלט על העולם. אמי התקשרה אלי בבהלה והציעה לי לבטל את הנסיעה. ואכן זה מה עשיתי כי ידעתי שאחרת אאלץ לשהות בבידוד בחלק גדול של הנסיעה. זה היה מאודמעציב שאינני יכול לטוס ולבקר את אמא שהתאלמנה כתשעה חודשים קודם לכן
בינתיים החורף הגיע גם הגיע לוונקובר ולשם שינוי גם הוא היה קשה ביותר. לא זכור לי כבר הרבהשנים קור נוראי כזה ושלג ללא הפסקה
ואז נחתה עלי מכה נוראית נוספת: בראשית חודש פברואר אחי התקשר אלי בדחיפות והודיע לי כיאמא אושפזה בבית החולים ומצבה חמור ביותר. היא נחנקה מחתיחת תפוח בסלט שאותו היאאכלה. במשך עשרים דקות שהתהה ללא חמצן, כך שהבנו שנגרם למוחה נזק אדיר שאין לא תקנה
יצאתי בטיסת חירום לישראל והספקתי לראות את אמא מחוברת לכל הצינורות שבעולם באיכילוב. למחרת הגעתי לבית החולים מוקדם בבוקר ונתבשר לי שהיא נפטרה. אני זה שנאלצי לבשר לאחילשאר בני המשפחה על מותה של אמא. היה קשה להשתתף בהלוויה ולאחר מכן לשבת שבעהולקבל ניחומים, מבני משפחה, חברים וידידים רבים
אמא ואבא נקברו באותו יום בדיוק הפרש של שנה. בקיצור: איבדתי את הורי בתוך שנה תמימהאחד
לא הספקתי להתאושש ממותה של אמא ואז נחתה על כולנו מכה קשה חדשה: ולדימיר פוטיןהחליט שהוא רוצה לעצמו את אוקראינה ופתח במלחמה נוראית ומיותרת
אני מקווה שאחרי שנתיים הזויות אלה אוכל קצת לזכות בשקט ובשלווה וללא שום אירועים חריגים. זה כבר הספיק לי
The world’s economies have never been more integrated or interdependent. This is most immediately evident in the fact that a war halfway around the world sends gasoline prices skyrocketing in Metro Vancouver.
But that interdependence has also permitted the most dramatic, swift and merciless sanctions ever seen – as a response to that very war. Within days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a jaw-dropping catalogue of economic penalties was slammed against the Russian regime. Not only that, but the sanctions have taken aim at individual millionaires and billionaires who exist in a symbiotic, mafia-like relationship with the Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin. Every day, the news is filled with one company after another cutting ties with Russian businesses, stopping trade with Russian producers and withdrawing their products and services from Russian consumers.
Cultural boycotts have also been swift. The Vancouver Recital Society canceled a scheduled event with the Russian piano wunderkind Alexander Malofeev and scores or hundreds of similar cancellations have taken place in the classical music arena and other cultural sectors. International sporting competitions have barred Russian participation.
The combined effects of these thousands of individual actions are intended to put pressure on Russian citizens who will then, the plan goes, turn on their leader who will then, perhaps, alter his murderous invasion and withdraw or, better still, be ousted in favour of a return to the nascent democracy Russia was nurturing before Putin put his boot heel on its neck.
If these sanctions work, it could be a turning point in human history – nonviolent economic retribution outmanoeuvring brute force. (In addition to economic sanctions, Western countries have also supplied Ukraine with military equipment and other supports, while stopping short of meeting the entreaties of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky that the West get more directly involved, including by implementing a no-fly zone over his country, which would equate to a direct military conflict between Russia and the West.)
Events are unfolding by the minute, with more than two million refugees flooding neighbouring countries in the course of just 10 days and horrific images of destruction and death flowing out to the world. Amid all this, a few observations stand out.
Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett traveled to Moscow after Zelensky implored him to act as an intermediary. Israel has fraught, complex and deep historical and contemporary connections with both countries, including a massive chunk of Israel’s population that came from Russia and Ukraine in the past 30 years and another large proportion with older roots in the region. Bennett and Zelensky are, it has been noted, the only two Jewish heads of government in the world. Zelensky’s steadfastness during these weeks of war has inspired the world, perhaps especially Jews worldwide, who now see him as a David defending both his homeland and democracy itself from the Goliath of Putin’s military. It would be remarkable if the prime minister of Israel were able to play a part in brokering the end to war and restoring national integrity to Ukraine.
In this space, we have been critical of cultural boycotts that target Israeli performers, athletes and others. Cultural interactions between citizens of diverse countries are the lifeblood of global civilization. In the case of real or proposed sanctions against Israel, the end-goal is ambiguous. Depending on the proponent, movements to boycott Israel aim to variously sanction particular policies, end the occupation or end Israel (as the term “anti-Zionist” implies). They are, for all intents, a punishment without end, given that the end-goal is vague. In the case of Russia, the hope is that the short, sharp shock of sanctions will lead to a satisfactory resolution and then we will ideally again soon welcome Russian performers and athletes, to say nothing of a return to trade with one of the world’s largest economies. The clarity of the call – leave Ukraine alone! – is critical to success. Unlike the undefined or obscured goals of BDS, the campaign against Russia is clear. If Russia retreats, sanctions will be peeled back.
There is another issue worth considering. It is notable that countries guilty of egregious crimes, such as the Chinese government’s imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of its Uyghur Muslim citizens and others, have not brought down the near-unanimous wrath of the West. Perhaps this is proof of the dictum that white lives elicit greater global concern than lives of people of colour. It may also be that the world understands that the invasion of Ukraine might be a precursor to greater territorial ambitions. It is also unavoidable that, for the Western collective memory, war in Europe evokes the gravest ghosts of the 20th century.
We will soon know whether the most comprehensive sanctions ever imposed (undergirded by materiel support) can end this conflict without the worst case scenario – direct conflagration between nuclear powers, Russia and the West – coming to pass. If they are successful, it would signal a new age in which concerted economic influence, rather than boots on the ground, can turn the tide of history.
At our press time, the people of Ukraine were waiting, as they have for weeks, to see what fate has in store for them. Vladimir Putin, the Russian despot, has been threatening to invade the country – again. Under Putin, Russia has already illegally occupied the Crimean peninsula and two enclaves in eastern Ukraine. Pro-Russian extremists are also in control in Transnistria, a breakaway entity to the west of Ukraine that the world community recognizes as part of Moldova. In the Russian countryside surrounding the parts of Ukraine that Russia has not already occupied, an estimated 190,000 Russian troops are poised to attack.
Putin’s designs on Ukraine are ostensibly about his concerns over Ukraine potentially joining NATO, which some Russians view as a step too far in the incremental loss of Russian dominance over what was once the Soviet Union and, before that, the Russian Empire. He is also motivated by his own desire for power and expanding his influence. Along with other Russian nationalists, Putin views Ukraine as more than a neighbouring country but rather an integral part of a sacred Eurasian (Russian-dominated, of course) land.
Western powers have warned and cajoled Putin, who seems to revel in tormenting his adversaries. He is almost certainly aware that no one (save, perhaps, himself) wants war. The United States, having just catastrophically escaped a military debacle in Afghanistan, has no interest in continuing their role as the world’s policeman. The leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Germany and other Western powers have warned of serious consequences if Putin follows through on what appear to be unconcealed ambitions to invade, but none of those countries will risk the lives of their young people to defend Ukrainian sovereignty. It was precisely occasions like this for which the United Nations was envisioned, but the ideals of its founders have run aground on the rocks of realpolitik.
Genuine threats of reprisals are limited to economic sanctions. Here, too, Putin knows that embargoes and other economic penalties would be devastating not only for his country but for the economies of the West. Western Europe depends on Russian oil and anything – military instability or international sanctions – could send fuel and heating costs, which are already at record highs in many places, further through the ceiling. At a certain point, that could threaten the stability of some Western governments. More worrying is the fact that Ukraine has always been, and remains, the “breadbasket” of the region. Military or economic disruptions that harm Ukraine’s ability to get products to market could lead to food shortages. The possibilities are bleak.
Canada is home to one of the Ukrainian diaspora’s largest populations. More than 1.3 million Canadians are from, or descended from, the place. A significant proportion of North America’s Jewish population, too, is from that area and an even larger proportion departed to the new world through Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
Ukraine has somewhere between 43,000 and 200,000 Jews. Definitions of “who is a Jew” are complicated by nearly a century of enforced atheism and centuries more of rampant antisemitism. The 200,000 estimate is the number who would qualify for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.
According to the New York Times, synagogues have hired Israeli security guards and hired buses for rapid evacuations. The Jewish Agency is said to have evacuation plans at the ready.
For all Ukrainians, the past 100 years have been a series of tumults. Jewish Ukrainians have been especially vulnerable during these times of upheaval – and the older Jews today, and those with any sense of history, may rightly understand they have more to fear than other potential victims of a Russian invasion.
Israeli government officials have been remarkably tight-lipped on the subject, other than to urge the 12,000 Israelis in Ukraine to come home as soon as possible – reportedly only 4,000 have so far done so.
It is easy, understandable even, to suggest the time has come for Jews in Ukraine and other places where life is especially difficult, to leave for Israel or elsewhere. Certainly, we are thankful that Jews with nowhere else to go have a Jewish state ready to take them in.
But Ukraine is their home. There are hundreds of Jewish organizations and institutions in Ukraine, a place where Jewish civilization goes back 1,200 years and where a vast amount of Jewish culture emerged in the past several centuries, including important streams of Hasidism and many noted authors and artists.
As the world waits on Putin, the latest in far too long a line of Russian tyrants, we watch with a sense of helplessness, knowing that people are afraid and suffering. And we hope that those in power pull back from the brink.
The King David Hotel was partially obscured by a temporary security barrier as part of the preparations that were carried out in Jerusalem for the arrival of leaders from more than 45 countries for in the Fifth World Holocaust Forum, which took place at Yad Vashem this week, and marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland. (photo from Ashernet)
Monday marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. That date, Jan. 27, has been set aside annually to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Scores of officials from around the world were to descend on Jerusalem this week to attend a ceremony at Yad Vashem and a forum on the Holocaust. Expected guests include Canada’s Governor-General Julie Payette, Prince Charles, Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emanuel Macron, U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence and a long list of royalty, heads of government and others from around the world, especially from Europe.
Among the more attention-grabbing guests is Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine. Zelensky is a particularly interesting man in a particular role at an interesting time. He will be in Jerusalem alongside Pence and other world leaders at the very moments when the U.S. president is undergoing an impeachment trial initiated as a result of a phone call with Zelensky, probably the only reason most North Americans know his name. But that is among the least remarkable things about the leader.
A political neophyte (aside from playing the Ukrainian president in a satirical TV series), Zelensky was elected on an anti-corruption platform. In advance of his visit to Israel for the commemoration events this week, he engaged in a lengthy and witty interview with the Times of Israel about his family’s history – some relatives live in Israel and he has visited and performed comedy there many times – and his reflections on Jewishness, Israel and contemporary politics.
It caused some curiosity when Zelensky was elected because he has, in his words, “Jewish blood.” It is a common term, perhaps especially in formerly Soviet societies where religion was officially negated and so identities are defined obliquely, but the phrase “Jewish blood” is unfortunate in the context of Ukrainian history.
Among the considerations facing the country at present is the complicity of its citizens in the Holocaust, including in the massacres at Babi Yar, a ravine in the capital of Kyiv, where an estimated 100,000 to 150,000 individuals were murdered during the Nazi occupation, including more than 33,000 Jews on one day in September 1941.
In 1976, Soviet officials erected a monument marking the site and the cataclysm – ignoring the Jewish particularity of the mass murder and lamenting the deaths of Soviet victims of Nazism. It is undeniably true that victims at Babi Yar also included Roma, communists, Ukrainian nationalists and prisoners of war, all of whom deserve to be commemorated and mourned. But the omission of the Jewish identities of most of the victims at the site has been a point of pain and conflict for decades.
Zelensky’s government is remedying this. Begun by civic officials and Jewish leaders and endorsed by Zelensky’s predecessors, a Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Centre is being constructed, with anticipated completion in 2023. The government is also undertaking a more transparent assessment of the country’s role and its citizens’ collaboration during the Second World War, outpacing most of their eastern European neighbours in addressing this dark past.
Still, some red flags remain. Zelensky claims that there is no antisemitism in Ukraine, an unequivocal statement that bewilders. It would be careless for any leader to ascribe complete innocence of bigotry to their entire citizenry, more so the leader of a country with a history like Ukraine’s.
He is, in some ways, between a rock and a hard place. While making blanket denials of Ukrainian antisemitism, he is also attempting to move his society away from the glorification of nationalist – meaning, among other things, inevitably antisemitic – historical figures. He points to the fact that he, a novice politician with “Jewish blood,” was elected to the country’s top post as evidence of tolerance in Ukrainian society. It does seem encouraging.
Also encouraging is the extensive list of world leaders arriving at Yad Vashem not only for a commemoration but for an educational forum, titled Remembering the Holocaust: Fighting Antisemitism. Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin has said the purpose of the meeting is “to think about how to pass on Holocaust remembrance to generations who will live in a world without survivors, and what steps we must take to ensure the safety and security of Jews, all around the world.”
Seventy-five years after that terrible epoch, the topic remains timely.
