During Kyiv Jewish Forum 2020, at the panel “How anti-Semitic is Ukraine Today?” the Ambassador of the State of Israel to Ukraine Joel Lion said that disagreements over the presence or absence of anti-Semitism in Ukraine arise due to the lack of its clear definition.
“There should be an understanding of what an anti-Semitic act is, because if a monument to the victims of the Shoah was desecrated by somebody, it should not be seen as a hooligan act, but as an anti-Semitic act. And according to the legislation in Ukraine, this act will be pursued as hooliganism, and not as anti-Semitism,” the ambassador said.
Lion also informed that Israel has offered Ukraine to hold seminars on fighting anti-Semitism, in particular for the law enforcement officers.
At the same time, the ambassador noted that anti-Semitism in Ukraine is not the government policy.
“Yes, there is anti-Semitism in Ukraine. It is not a government anti-Semitism. It is not an institutional anti-Semitism, but at the same time, there is a high level of anti-Semitism in Ukraine. We have to do everything to fight this – the state of Israel together with Ukraine,” the Israeli ambassador said.
Kyiv Jewish Forum 2020 takes place on September 8-9. The event has been organized by the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine in cooperation with the Jerusalem Post.
JCU President Boris Lozhkin stated that the Kyiv Jewish Forum opened up new opportunities for discussions.
“Speaking today about the issues worrying Jews, we inevitably also speak about the issues worrying the whole world.” Lozhkin said.