In Ukraine, Both Sides Exploit Jewish History
Thanks to extermination and emigration, the Jews of Ukraine, who numbered about 2.7 million at the beginning of the 20th Century, are now down to perhaps 250,000 and falling. But their history is playing an oversized role in the drama of revolution unfolding in Kiev, as both sides exploit them and their memory to gain an upper hand in public opinion.
The Russian government of Vladimir Putin has
decided on a simplistic smear of the protesters who brought down the
government of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych: they are
neo-Nazis conducting a “pogrom” against Ukraine.
“We are forced to note that some of our Western partners are not
concerned about the fate of Ukraine, but rather their own unilateral
geopolitical considerations,” the Russian Foreign Ministry complained this week.
“There are no principled assessments of criminal actions of extremists,
including their Neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic manifestations.”...