On Ukraine, antisemitism, and choosing sides
![Shani Bechhofer](https://static.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/users/shani-bechhofer1604222286-200x200.jpeg)
Featured Post
There is no moral ambiguity in Russia's unprovoked military aggression. It is evil, and Ukraine's history of antisemitism is simply not the issue right now
![](https://static.timesofisrael.com/blogs/uploads/2022/03/US_Embassy_in_Jerusalem_lit_with_the_colours_of_Ukrainian_flag_to_stand_with_Ukraine_2-640x400.jpeg)
US embassy, branch office, in Tel Aviv, lit with the colors of the Ukrainian flag. (Wikimedia Commons)
Some have expressed their deep discomfort about valorizing the people of Ukraine in this war, given the long history and remaining embers of Ukrainian antisemitism. These emotions have been particularly well articulated in several columns written by emigres from Ukraine. They are understandable.
I do not understand or accept, however, the theological, philosophical, or political wavering. To that hand-wringing I respond: Let me make this easier for you.
This is not about Ukraine per se, it is about Putin’s naked aggression. It is about the injustice of “might makes right,” a belief that Hitler championed overtly. It is about exposing the lies of the bully rather than passively emboldening him and others like him.
Ukraine is certainly imperfect. It has not yet fully freed itself of that endemic corruption that flourished under Soviet rule and under Putin’s kleptocratic regime and the overlord he installed. It has not cleansed itself of bigotries or fully confronted the very dark sides of its long history. But it is a sovereign state with a democratically elected government. Putin has concocted against that government accusations with no factual basis as a pretext to create the veneer of a justification for his indefensible attack. In truth, there is neither Ukrainian belligerence nor a threat against which Russia needs to defend itself to justify this war.
People of good will stand with Ukraine against Russia today. We praise its people, because they have made this decision of their own volition – that if Ukraine falls, it will not be as yet another domino bringing others down with them, but on their own terms, resisting in their own voice, without cowardice or complicity. We praise them because, having chosen the path of democracy and liberty, they are utterly unwilling to abandon it, to scurry back to the protection of Mother Russia’s smothering embrace and participate in rebuilding a repressive empire. We remember that ruthless Russian empire, whether Czarist or Communist, and we know that it must not be reconstituted under the leadership of a KGB-trained dictator. We cheer on the Ukrainians who are fighting against that dictator, thus exposing to the world his calculated lies, his amorality, his army’s tactics and weaknesses, his expansionist ambitions, and possibly his eroding rational judgment.
Here I quote from the clear words of the representative of Albania to the United Nations, spoken at the Security Council meeting on the night of February 23, 2022 before Russia’s invasion:
Every development of the last 48 hours confirms to us and to the world that Russian worries have nothing to do with its security; that its anxieties are not linked to NATO enlargement; that this issue is not a confrontation between Russia and the West.
This is a confrontation between Russia and international law, the UN charter that it deliberately has chosen to ignore; a confrontation between a hegemonistic vision and the rules-based world order.
It’s not about Russia’s concern; it’s about Russia’s appetite.
The Ukrainians are facing another aggression just because they dare to exist, because they have chosen to be independent, because they have opted for democracy. This is a dark hour not only for Ukraine but for the entire international community as we witness with trepidation the progression of a pure act of aggression, carefully planned and cold-bloodedly being executed.
At this most critical moment, we stand firm for their right to be free and to choose who they want to be.
There is no moral ambiguity in this situation. We no longer live in a world in which one nation may simply gobble up its weaker neighbor, thankfully. Russia’s unprovoked military aggression and territorial ambitions are bringing fear, suffering, and death to millions. This is not genius, it is not savvy, it is not deserving of any sort of respect. This is evil and if unchecked, this sort of lawlessness threatens to make the world a far more dangerous place for everyone.
How long can you hover over both banks of the river? Choose a side and please don’t waffle (publicly). Nobody is asking you to declare Ukraine to be the bastion of all virtue. What this moment does demand is clarity about right and wrong. Root for the people who want to live in peace. Root against the ruthless dictator who sent his soldiers to kill them, quash any opposition, and install his puppet to govern them against their will. If “rooting” is not your thing, try this: Refrain from justifying the aggression of a bully because you think the bully might favor you, or because the bully’s friends donated a lot of money to your cause, or because the victim’s grandparents were bad, or because the enemy of your enemy is your friend. Don’t be distracted by arguments about politics or about who should have done what, if these blur your vision. Let us cultivate in our hearts compassion for human beings who are terrified, uprooted, and in danger. Let’s cultivate in our souls rejection of injustice, aggression, and bullying.
I don't see it as a contradiction to both show compassion for the Ukrainians and wanting to see Russia defeated from a geopolitical standpoint on the one hand while acknowledging witnessing HKB"H's נקמת דם עבדיך השפוך on the other hand.
ReplyDeleteBoth can be true at the same time. This war doesn't have to be just about one thing. And that is not being morally ambiguous.
It is difficult to see this as נקמת דם עבדיך השפוך except from a bloodthirsty perspective. See my own post on the issue.
DeleteI disagree, but I'd like to see your post on the issue before I comment further. Please send a link. Thanks.
DeleteThere is a mistaken, but prevalent sentiment among Orthodox Jews that Ukraine deserves this comeuppance, that it is revenge, because they were so antisemitic and collaborated with the Nazis. That therefore they deserve this, middah keneged middah, that we should even be happy it's happening.
DeleteThis is wrong on many counts. Today Ukraine is no more antisemitic than any other country. Perhaps less, as they elected a Jewish president and tolerate all the goings-on at and around Uman.
But more than that. As Karl Rove writes today in the WSJ: "Putin is a killer, a KGB thug, a brutal dictator." This is a would-be Stalin who just threatened the world with nuclear weapons. He is a danger of epic proportions, an evil man who no one should praise or support.
Jews that can rejoice at his exploits and revel in killing and wounding of innocent Ukrainians are not in sync with the middos of Avrohom Avinu.
This is an excellent article that addresses and deals with the ambiguities. https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-698299
As stated in the outset, I do not support Putin. Just as we don't support or like Sanheriv (to put it mildly), we nevertheless see how he was the Yad Hashem in punishing other nations (see Amos chapter 1, for example). Just as we don't support or like Nevuchadnetzar (to put it mildly), we nevertheless see how he was the Yad Hashem in punishing other nations (see Yirmiya chapters 46-49, for example).
DeleteAt the same time, one article may claim that Ukraine has less antisemitism than the rest of Europe. That is actually questionable - see here. Plus, the article you showed me itself admitted that the Ukrainians honor their antisemitic "heroes" of the past.
Nevertheless, for argument's sake, let's take it at face value that they are less antisemitic. We must still ask: Did they ever do Teshuva for their past deeds? Did the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren ever show remorse or real Teshuva? Perhaps some did. And it is for them I would show compassion for their current plight. As a nation as a whole, however, they have a long ways to go. And since such Teshuva was not forthcoming, it's hard not to see how Putin is the Yad Hashem here.
The last verse in Yoel states:
וְנִקֵּיתִי, דָּמָם לֹא-נִקֵּיתִי; וַיהוָה, שֹׁכֵן בְּצִיּוֹן
As the commentaries point out, Hashem will never absolve the nations for spilling the blood of the Jewish people. Sometimes, it takes 80 years. Other times, it takes longer. But it always happens.
One need not be a Navi to see that this looks like one of those times.
I think you miss my point entirely. My point is that anyone who smugly attributes the suffering of the Ukrainians to events of at least 80 years ago and takes some strange satisfaction in that perspective is utterly lacking in being from the רחמנים ביישנים וגומלי חסדים.
DeleteOh, and yes, one would need to be a Navi to take the position you espouse.
Deleteמדרש רבה במדבר - פרשה כ פסקה א
Deleteולא עוד אלא שכל הנביאים היו במדת רחמים על ישראל ועל עובדי כוכבים שכן ירמיה אומר (ירמיה מח) לבי למואב כחלילים יהמה וכן יחזקאל (יחזקאל כז) בן אדם שא על צור קינה וזה אכזרי עמד לעקור אומה שלימה חנם על לא דבר לכך נכתבה פרשת בלעם להודיע למה סלק הקב"ה רוח הקדש מעובדי כוכבים שזה עמד מהם וראה מה עשה:
1) I'm not so sure that's true that this is lacking in being a רחמן. We are not obligated to have compassion on those who harmed us. One who has compassion on the cruel...
Delete2) I believe you missed my point too. Vast segments of the population are not blameless - and the sins of the past have not disappeared.
3) The Nevi'im who were merciful on the nations is not comparable to this situation. Did these Nevi'im have compassion on Amalek? That would have been more of an apt comparison.
4) If you want to know why it took 80 years, see the Ramban on Devarim 32:34-35:
הלא הוא כמס עמדי - ראש הפתן האכזרי שלהם שמתי באוצרותי, להאכילם מפרי מעשיהם. כי לי נקם ושלם, לנקום נקמת ישראל מידם, ולי שלם, לשלם להם כפעלם שכחשו בי. לעת תמוט רגלם, כשתתמלא סאתם, כענין כי לא שלם עון האמורי עד הנה (בראשית טו טז).
Interesting that the vehicle to enact punishment when נתמלא סאתן is called a פתן. Just saying...
https://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/compassion-for-the-ukrainians/2022/03/03/
DeleteWell said.
Yes, I saw that earlier today. I agree it was well said. There are many points that I agree with.
DeleteI'm not getting into the
בנפל איבך אל תשמח
vs.
באבוד רשעים רנה
vs.
ישמח צדיק כי חזה נקם
discussion. I agree that doing what the Palestinians do - to distribute candies when bad things happen to their enemies - is highly inappropriate in our current Galut. If that's what you mean by "strange satisfaction", then I agree with you.
And I agree that Israel should be sending aid - not only because it could benefit the Jews living there, but also it could benefit the חסידי אומות העולם that live there.
However, I disagree with the point the article that implies that seeing Hashem's hand in punishing a nation that treated us terribly and has vast swaths of individuals that would do the same today in a heartbeat is suggesting "that we know how divine justice operates such that we are convinced that G-d is punishing innocent men, women and children for sins of their grandparents and great-grandparents."
Of course, no human can claim to know for certain how Hashem's נקמה בגוים operates. But we have history and Torah sources to provide us with good educated guesses. And it is on that basis that people are reading between the lines and seeing what needs to be seen and saying what needs to be said.
As pointed out in the rather esteemed conservative editorial outlet the Federalist, a large percentage of right-leaning Americans have greater disgust from the oligarchic elite of their own country than they have of Putin or at least to bother with him.
ReplyDeleteReally going to try that croc?
the British spy Chief could State last week the signal difference between Russia and the present West is promotion of LGBT
What would have been needed for the international situation,are the white haired old classic Republicans.
Doubt he would have started at all if they would be the ones running the show still(when they manage to avoid of selling out to corporate interests
)
Putin even gave a dignified obituary for John McCain when he passed away a few years ago. He respected them.
He came step by step to the conclusion the so-called West is a bunch of wimpish feminine run rainbow pushing forces going forward
Putin has chose his moment truly shrewdly surely..
He may be dangerous, but he's doing normal standards of aggressive ambitious dictatorial leaders
The epithets About him being thrown around on Jewish sites are over the top. Many of our domestic rainbow politicians presently deserve as much eg Yimach Shmo
Two wrongs...
DeleteIt is of worth noting in parts of Ukraine there reportedly is still a festive day where local ukrainians dress an effigy as a religious Jew, they then stab it and burn it
ReplyDeleteAnd it is, of course, worth noting, that Ukraine is considered one of the least antisemitic countries in Europe today. I am surprised you did not mention that.
Deleten the past decade or so what about the interventions going on the rest of the world? It’s okay all the sudden to be racist Because it matters more as it is white on white or is it something else
ReplyDeletewhere have they been for all the Chinese persecutions of the uigyhers?
Racist?
DeleteWhat would be the source for going all out as your crowd are opposing this invasion rather than going opposing others in other sectors of the world
DeleteMy crowd?
DeleteAh
ReplyDeleteEvery political and social system raises up 'useful idiot' sincere straight apologists
Hard to venture which couple would be nominated !?