Ukrainians and Jews lived side by side for centuries and went through such trials as the Holodomor, Stalinist repressions and totalitarianism. Modern Ukraine is a multinational society in which the rights of all communities, including the Jewish one, are protected, said the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba during the Kyiv Jewish Forum 2020.
At the panel dedicated to the issues of fight against anti-Semitism, the Foreign Minister stressed: “We have to remember history and treat it like history, but we should build a country where no one feels insecure, where everyone's contribution to the reputation of the country and to its development is appreciated.”
Kuleba thanked the Ambassador of Israel Joel Lyon for the words that there is no anti-Semitism in Ukraine at the institutional and state level.
“The best answer to the question about the level of anti-Semitism in Ukraine is the choice that society made in 2019. 73% of Ukrainians voted for a person with Jewish roots to be the President of Ukraine,” the minister reminded.
He noted that the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah has been recognized as a national holiday, the government quickly responds to manifestations of anti-Semitism and firmly demonstrates that it is unacceptable for Ukraine.
“In that Ukraine that we are building, all nations should be welcome. Including those nations and communities that have been part of us for hundreds of years – Jews, Crimean Tatars, Hungarians, Poles, and others. We are building such a country as a counterbalance to the external aggression,” Kuleba stressed.
As a reminder, the Kyiv Jewish Forum 2020, organized by the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine in partnership with the Jerusalem Post, is held online on September 8-9. President of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine Boris Lozhkin declared that the forum would provide an opportunity to hold diverse panels and discussions on the most relevant issues. It is possible to follow the discussion in real time on the KJF 2020 web page.