No one would deny that Ukraine, in common with nearly every other European country including Russia, has too many anti-Semites. Its far-right parties like Svoboda and Pravyi Sektor mirror similar movements elsewhere in Europe, like Jobbik in Hungary and Golden Dawn in Greece. It also should be mentioned that anti-Semitic rabble rousing has come from the pro-Moscow far left, too, like the Progressive Socialist Party that accused Jews of being behind the protests on Kiev\u2019s Maidan. But Ukraine\u2019s bid to free itself from Russian domination has not been driven by anti-Semitic ideology, as many Ukrainian Jewish leaders have themselves pointed out. \u201cI categorically refute the statements appearing in a number of foreign media outlets of facts of massive anti-Semitism and xenophobia in Ukraine that do not correspond to reality!\u201d declared Vadim Rabinovich of the All-Ukrainian Jewish Congress. \u201cThe whipping up of the situation around this issue is of a provocative nature and does not contribute to a calm life for the Jewish community of Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why, then, the eagerness with which pro-Moscow circles in America have embraced Putin\u2019s cynical manipulation of anti-Semitism? I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a one size fits all answer to this curious question, but Michael Lerner helpfully provides an insight. The \u201cneocons,\u201d he says, are playing down anti-Semitism in Ukraine because their \u201cprimary goal is to protect Israel and destroy all of its potential enemies\u2014a list that grows longer and longer as long as Israel retains its dominance over the Palestinian people and denies them fundamental human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is insane stuff, not least because neoconservatives aren\u2019t actually running U.S. foreign policy at the moment. Yet we need to pay attention, because, as a cursory search of the Internet will show, there are many people out there who subscribe to this nonsense. And when we do pay attention, we realize that the dots being connected here are reminiscent of a Jackson Pollock painting: the Jewish state and its allies in America are backing an anti-Semitic regime in Ukraine in order to continue the persecution of the Palestinians. Like I said, insane.<\/p>\n
I would therefore advise American Jews to play close heed to any anti-Semitic episodes in Ukraine. (Apart from anything, Ukraine is one of the few governments in the world over which the U.S. still retains some leverage, so our efforts won\u2019t go to waste.) At the same time, let\u2019s recognize Putin\u2019s invasion of Crimea and his threat to the rest of Ukraine for what it is\u2014naked aggression in violation of the United Nations Charter that, ultimately, poses a threat to all of us, whether Jewish or not.<\/p>\n
(Ben Cohen is the Shillman Analyst for JNS.org. His writings on Jewish affairs and Middle Eastern politics have been published in Commentary, the New York Post, Haaretz, Jewish Ideas Daily and many other publications.)<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Share](\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\")