Ruminations on Zelensky and Churchill

All kinds of commentators have now indelibly linked Volodymr Zelensky's powerful oration last night to a Joint Session of Congress with the one delivered by Winston Churchill on December 26, 1941. In this case, IMHO, the usually suspect conventional wisdom about both men being symbols of freedom defying and overcoming dictatorship is largely spot on.

As listening to the two speeches makes evidently clear, these are two utterly unlike--and unlikely--avatars improbably linked across the decades. Churchill, then in his late 60's, was an aristocratic Englishman raised in great wealth in Blenheim Palace, whereas Zelensky, a generation younger at 44 when he addressed Congress, is a salt of the earth Ukrainian Jew raised in near poverty in hardscrabble Kryvyi Rih (Broken Horn), in the last chaotic years of the Soviet Union, who went on to become comic actor of renown in newly indepedent Ukraine. Churchill, a native English speaker dazzled American audiences with his Shakespearian elocution; Zelensky, a native Russian (not Ukrainian) speaker made a magnificent effort to address the Congress in English; which limited his ability to be as eloquent and witty as he would have been in either Ukrainian or Russian; though he won many hearts as he struggled but largely succeeded to powerfully distill his message in a foreign tongue.


Yet the essence of their commonality is certainly that these two men, 80 years apart, became the incarnation of the struggle of their respective countries--and ultimately of the larger world--to resist authoritarian-fascist invasion and brutality. Both stood up in the face of cynicism and defeatism to fight back against enormous odds and stun the world by inspiring their respective peoples to fight like hell and hold back the aggressors. Both speakers also resisted the temptation to sugarcoat the dire situations their countries found themselves in at the time of their speeches. Battered London at the end of 1941 was still enduring the Nazi blitz after 18 months of bombardment, and the British Army had been pushed out of western and southern Europe by the German Wehrmacht and out of Malaya and Singapore only days earlier by the Japanese. For its part, Kyiv--and all of Ukraine--remains under relentless and remorseless Russian bombardment to knock out critical electricity, heat and water supplies amidst sub-zero temperatures, even as the Russians launch wave after meat-griding wave of forces against Bakhmut and threaten to launch another military assault on Kyiv through Belarus.  

To their immense credit, both Chruchill and Zelensky have consistently told their people the bitter truth and both populations rose resolutely to the occasion because their leaders helped them to grasp that the alternative to steely resistance; namely defeat and subjugation to totalitarian evil, was both unbexarable and unthinkable..
The difference between the two situations is that we know what happened after Churchill's speech and we don't yet know what will happen after Zelensky's. On December 26, 1941, the US was already in the war three weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor--an event that totally discredited the America First isolationist-proto-fascist movement of that time.

Much to Churchill's relief, Roosevelt and Marshall had already made clear to him during White House meetings the previous days that they would not prioritize fighting the Japanese in the Pacific to the exclusioin of the war in Europe; but were all in on preparing to bring the American industrial and military colossus against the Nazis as well. As Churchill memorably says in the speech; the combination of the UK, US and Soviet Union were bound to overwhelm Nazi Germany and Japan; the question was whether deliverance would come in 1942, 1943 or 1944.

In the case of Zelensky and Ukraine, we don't know the answer yet. Clearly, Zelensky chose this moment to give this speech to Congress because the Republicans are about to take over the House, with an empowered band of modern-day Trump-inspired America First isolationists and proto-fascists determined to sharply limit US aid to Ukraine. It is critical that the Biden Administration do whatever is necessary to push through the Omnibus bill in the next few days to ensure Ukraine the promised and desperately needed $45 billion, but even assuming that happens, Mc Carthy, Greene, Jordan and the rest of that noxious crowd, pushed forward by the sneering likes of Tucker Carlson, will pose great challenges ahead.

In our own time, unfortuately, the second coming of America First remains very much alive and active in the political arena, and as long as that is the case, Putin retains hope of ultimately realizing his evil designs. One prays that Zelensky's brilliant speech makes that form of treason against democracy and humanity too repulsive even for the likes of Kevin McCarthy to speak out loud in the Halls of Congress; or for the likes of Trump and DeSantis to whip up anti-democratic sentiment on the hustings in Red America, but we don't know yet if that will be the case.

I love Volodymr Zelensky and devoutly pray he will inspire his own generation and generations to come around the world to stand up, flight back and ultimately prevail against hatred, bigotry and totalitarianism; and to take on the existential climate crisis with similar clear-eyed sense of purpose. If anyone can inspire us to fight for and secure a livable, democratic and humane world for our children and grandchildren, it is Volodymyr Zelensky. But nothing is preordained. How the history of the 21st Century gets written literally depends on all of us.

You Can Go Home Again

A much too fast visit to my hometown of Pittsburgh began with an overnight stay at the country home of childhood neighbor and rediscovered Facebook friend--and now real friend, David Brady, at his beautiful home in the woods in rural Butler County; then, yesterday, to a Pirates-Phillies game at PNC Park with David and grandson Seth (alas, the Buccos got clobbered 8-2) a walking tour of downtown Pittsburgh starting with a crossing of the Andy Warhol Bridge ending at the Point; and a pilgrimage to the Tree of Life synagogue in beautiful Squirrel Hill; where I had a long and cathartic cry viewing the posters of solidarity and kindness sent by children and adults from Pittsburgh and around America. 

There is something so powerful about connecting with and belonging to community; whether a Jewish community horribly violated by a murderous act of terrorism by a depraved Jew-hater, but then embraced and succored by an outpouring of love and support from the larger community around them sharing their grief or a community of long-suffering Pirates fans coming together to enjoy a ballgame. hold high the Jolly Roger and commiserate with each other that 30-years of losing will end someday. Or a community of a friendship with long-lost neighbor who welcomed me into his home, gave me a ride across his 30 acres on a Quad and allowed me to partake in his world of hunting and self-reliance. so different from my own but discovering heartfelt commonalities as well. Communities distinct and overlapping.

I experienced all of that and more yesterday in my beloved hometown, itself a plucky survivor of hard times that has reinvented itself and is now filled with art, life, great views and good vibes. I left Pittsburgh at the age of 13; yet feel deeply and eternally connected to my vibrant hometown; part of an extended community of Pittsburgh lovers. Welcome home, Walter. 

 

Apotheosis In Dublin

The administrator of the Jeanie Johnston refugee ship from the potato famine era welcomes Bohdan, a 13-year-old Ukrainian refugee, to Ireland

Returned home last night from Dublin deeply moved by the enormous kindness of the Irish people toward the people of Ukraine in their hour of need. Over the past six weeks as many as 30,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Ireland, a country of about 5 million. During our stay of eight days, we heard nothing but expressions of solidarity, compassion and love expressed toward the new arrivals;  often directly to Tanya ‘s sister Nila and her 13 year old son Bohdan who arrived in Ireland in early March and whom we were visiting. We heard not a word in conversations, or in the Irish media, of any indication of resentment toward the new arrivals or toward the generous package of social benefits the government is providing them. What a contrast to the situation in the US, where, despite promises by Biden to take in 100,000 Ukrainians, the U.S. has barely begun the intake process—a sad outgrowth of the overall demonization of immigrants here that has been negatively impacting our politics since at least 2016. 

Nila, Bohdan, Tanya and I experienced a deeply emotional moment during a visit to the Jeanie Johnston, the replica of a ship by that name that brought desperately poor Irish refugees to Canada and America during the Potato Famine of the 1840’s. As we were waiting to board the ship—floating on the Liffey River--for a tour, I mentioned to one of the administrators that the visit was meaningful for all of us because Nila and Bohdan were newly arrived Ukrainian refugees struggling to find their feet in a new land. I also asked him for a recommendation of a good restaurant nearby where we could celebrate Bohdan’s upcoming birthday. In any case, 20 minutes later as the tour began for us and about 30 other tourists from the US, France, Spain, Hungary and elsewhere; the administrator and tour guide made a point of welcoming Nila and Bohdan to Ireland. The administrator, with tears in his eyes, praised them for their courage and steadfastness in making the difficult trip to safety and freedom and expressing the hope and belief that they will quickly find their feet. The two men then presented Bohdan with a birthday card with a fold-out image of the ship. Bohdan is a newly minted teenager who keeps his emotions under control, but as he responded with a heartfelt, emphatic "thank you so much!" I could see how powerful the moment was for him and am sure he will remember it for his entire life. 

Certainly, it is clear to us that the incredibly warm welcome Nila and Bohdan have received from the O’Reilly family—Hugh, Ursula, Adam and Leon---who have taken them into their home and hearts and from the principal, teachers and students in the Irish school Bohdan is attending---is helping them to recover and heal from the massive trauma they suffered in having their lives abruptly turned upside down; being abruptly forced out of their home in Kyiv, separated from their loved ones still in Ukraine and fearing deeply for their safety. Nila and Bohdan have no idea what the future will bring and when they will be able to return home, but they DO already have a solid support structure of love and acceptance in Dublin---and that is a very big deal. For our part, Tanya and I are doing what we can to help support Nila and Bohdan from America and feel uplifted to have spent a beautiful week with them enjoying Dublin and the Wicklow Mountains—allowing them to articulate and sharing in all of the complicated emotions they are experiencing. 

As we begin our observance of Passover, we are deeply moved to be connected these beautiful people who have taken the journey to freedom in Ireland and to all the people of Ukraine who are fighting valiantly against Pharaoh Putin who seeks to destroy their nationhood and reduce them to slave status. Ukrainians are upholding the torch of freedom for all of us and taking horrific human losses in the process. We owe it to them to be by their side in this terrible hour.

BALTIMORE JEWISH TIMES March 31, 2022 Comparing War In Ukraine To Final Solution By Walter Ruby Guest Contributor As a Jew and lover of Israel, I was filled with outrage to read that, in the wake of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent Zoom address to the Israeli Knesset, unnamed senior Israeli ministers railed against what they termed Zelensky’s “outrageous comparison” of Hitler’s “final solution” to the Jewish question and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s present effort to snuff out Ukrainian life and liberty. To add insult to injury, the same unnamed officials claimed that “Zelensky also distorted the part his country played in the murder of Jews.” Outrageous comparison? On the contrary. It is a quite apt and accurate one, given that the Russian military has carried out saturation bombing and shelling that has all but leveled the cities of Kharkiv and Mariupol as well many smaller towns and villages, killing thousands. The Russians have deliberately targeted maternity hospitals and theaters and other buildings where desperate civilians are taking shelter. Indeed, the Russian military machine appears intent on crushing Ukrainian resistance and extinguishing Ukrainian peoplehood by wantonly massacring as many Ukrainian civilians as possible, Russian speakers as well as Ukrainian ones, while forcing much of the rest of the Ukrainian population into exile to create a “Ukraine without Ukrainians” that can be colonized by Russia. Zelensky offended some Israeli MKs with his hectoring tone and refusal to openly identify as Jewish. Yet he has clearly thought deeply about the ways that the Holocaust in Ukraine, in which members of his own family were killed, closely resembles Russia’s present-day attempted genocide of the Ukrainian people. In his speech to the Knesset, Zelensky was correct in asserting that “Ukraine and Israel face the same threat from their respective enemies — the total destruction of our people, our state, our culture, even the name: Ukraine, Israel.” He was on target in pointing out that “Our people are now wandering the world, searching for a place, just as you once wandered … seeking security, trying to stay alive, and in peace.” Finally, he was right again in pointing out, “The Russian invasion of Ukraine is not a military operation as it’s presented in Moscow. It is an all-out war, illegitimate, intended to destroy our people, our country, our cities, our culture and our children. Everything that makes Ukrainians Ukrainians.” As to the vexed issue of Ukrainians and the Holocaust, it is undeniable that a minority of Ukrainians did collaborate with the Nazis’ extermination of the Jews during their occupation of Ukraine from 1941-44. Yet the nation-state of Ukraine did not exist during those years and therefore could not have “played a part” in carrying out the mass murder of Jews, as the senior Israeli minister wrongly suggested. Indeed, most Ukrainians joined with Russians, Jews and others to defend their common homeland against the Nazi invaders. Why would anyone with an ounce of rachmanut (compassion) choose this moment, when Ukraine is under genocidal attack from Russia, to visit the sins of a minority of Ukrainians 80 years ago on the valiant Ukrainians of today, fighting against enormous odds to preserve self-determination and democracy? Doing that obviously plays directly into Putin’s false claim that he invaded Ukraine to eradicate Nazism, absurdly presided over, according to the Russian government, by Zelensky himself, who happens to be a Jew. Yes, Ukraine has a radical nationalist right, concentrated in the Svaboda (Freedom) party, but in the first round of the 2019 Ukrainian presidential elections, in which Zelensky, a candidate of Jewish origins, took first place with over 30% of the vote. (He later won the runoff overwhelmingly with 73% of the vote.) The candidate of Svaboda received less than 2%. That is a much lower percentage than the ultranationalist candidates in countries like Germany, France and Italy have received in recent elections. As he has done in recent speeches to the U.S. Congress and German Bundestag, Zelensky criticized his Israeli hosts, pointing to Israel’s refusal to impose sanctions on Moscow or share its Iron Dome with Ukraine. He also made clear his disquiet with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s unrelenting pressure on him to accept Moscow’s stated terms for allowing the survival of a shrunken, demilitarized Ukraine that would be totally at Putin’s mercy. Seeking to explain the reasons for Bennett’s position of studied neutrality between Russia and Ukraine, Zelensky asked, “What is it? Indifference? Political calculation? Mediation without choosing sides … I want to point out that indifference kills. Calculations can be wrong. You can mediate between countries, but not between good and evil.” Hours after Zelensky spoke, Bennett offered a rejoinder that “I personally believe that it is forbidden to equate the Holocaust to anything.” Yet such pious incantations do nothing to solve the moral issue facing Israel. If Israel refuses to choose between good and evil and instead averts its eyes from the genocide of another people, the Ukrainians, it will be acknowledging that “Never Again” is a meaningless concept, or one that applies only to the Jews. Indeed, Bennett’s cold-blooded realpolitik is staining the honor not only of Israel, but of the entire Jewish people. Jews of conscience have an obligation to speak up now and call out this morally squalid policy for what it is: deeply and enduringly wrong. Walter Ruby is president of Jews and Muslims and Allies Acting Together (JAMAAT). This originally ran in Washington Jewish Week.

In Solidarity With Ukraine and Defense of Democracy

I am sitting in front of my computer at home in Frederick tonight scared and disheartened by the horror that may be about to envelop the beautiful city of Kyiv and its three million plus people, including dear family members. The sheer insanity and malevolence of what may be about to happen feels impossible to absorb. I pray Biden’s presumed laying down the law tomorrow on the phone to Putin on the sweep of planned sanctions that effectively shut down Russia’s oil and gas exports and cut it off from the international banking system may still deter Putin from moving forward with a merciless invasion that would likely kill and wound tens of thousands and traumatize tens of millions.

The purpose of such a murderous display of armed might is clear enough; to blot out the aspirations of Ukrainians to run their own lives and live according to their own lights. Putin apparently fears that Ukrainian self-determination and democracy threatens his own survival as Emperor of all the Russias, and he may be right in that calculation. Clearly Putin and his coterie of ruthless KGB siloviki (tough guys) and avaricious oligarchs aren’t collectively worth the life of even one Ukrainian soldier (and we’ve already lost close to 15,000 of them since the takeover of Crimea and Donbass since 2014). And yet the dictator and his minions are now in a position to cause devastating damage to many more lives and to the threaten the very survival of a sovereign state.

What stays with me vividly tonight are memories of my visit with Tanya to Maidan Square in Kyiv in the spring of 2014, when we had the chance to talk to many of the young people who had risked their own lives and saw many dear friends killed a few weeks earlier in a successful effort to overthrow a venal Russian puppet as dictator of Ukraine and seize control of their own destinies. To have the chance to speak with them and experience their quiet courage, human dignity and advocacy explanation that there are certain ideas and dreams that are worth risking everything for--that experience was one of the privileges of my life. I am sickened to think that their lives are again being put on the line by a brutal and deeply banal dictator for whom 22 years of absolute power is not enough, but who is ready willing to destroy untold thousands more lives—including many of his own soldiers--to ensure he stays in control till the end of his life.

Tonight, it is the people of Ukraine who are confronted with the existential evil of totalitarianism on steroids; but in reality all of us are facing the same peril to human freedom emanating from the loose coalition of nationalist dictatorships and would-be dictators from Mar A Lago and Washington to Ottawa, Budapest, Rio da Janeiro, Jerusalem, Paris, London, Taipei, Mumbai and on and on. Today, human freedom is truly imperiled everywhere and this is the moment for believers in human freedom to join hands and fight in its defense with fortitude for the sake of our children and children’s children. I am a lifelong pacifist and anti-Cold Warrior but feel in my old bones that if we allow Putin to successfully invade and absorb Ukraine, democracy will be on life-support worldwide. We must stand with Ukraine.

3David Miley, George Zilberman and 1 other

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