Israeli ambassador to Ukraine speaks at Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv (06/22/03)

Israeli ambassador to Ukraine speaks at Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv

by Oles Darmohrai and Matthew Matuszak

LVIV - Anna Azari, Israel's ambassador to Ukraine and Moldova, spoke at the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) in Lviv on May 13. Though the subject of her talk was "The State and Religion in Israel," the ambassador also answered questions about Jewish-Ukrainian relations. The seminar was organized by the Humanities Faculty of the university as part of its inaugural year festivities.

"Today in Israel there are many more ideological arguments than there were 55 years ago," noted Ambassador Azari. "This is because 10 percent of the population is ultra-Orthodox and unambiguously has a negative assessment of all democratic changes in Israel; 10 to 30 percent is rooted in tradition, [but] accepts changes and the democratic system; 50 to 60 percent favors separation of church and state, as is the situation anywhere in the democratic world."

Ms. Azari also spoke of the place of recent immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union. "About one million immigrants from post-Soviet territories returned to Israel at the end of the 1980s and start of the 1990s, not only because of religious convictions, but because of their Jewish background. The majority of the repatriates were not Jewish by religion. Many consider themselves Jewish by nationality."

Ms. Azari has been ambassador to Ukraine since 1999, so, following her talk, she was asked about "her strongest impressions and disappointments" from the country.

"I was born in Lithuania," she recounted, "which was, perhaps, the most nationally oriented republic of the Soviet Union, even in Soviet times. When I left Vilnius in December 1971, my whole class came to say good-bye. It was almost a political demonstration. I also am very nationally oriented."

Ambassador Azari said she decided it was important to study the Ukrainian language when she arrived in the country. Though she delivered her talk and answered questions at the university in English, she mentioned that she "reads newspapers, not very serious literature, and can prepare small talks in the Ukrainian language."

Ms. Azari also brought up the issue of the Tu-154 plane flying from Tel-Aviv to Novosibirsk that exploded over the Black Sea on October 4, 2001, and "the question of the compensation of the families of those who perished. I'm not blaming anyone," she said, "but it's a very important question... Eighty lawyers got together to talk about the question of compensation. They talked about everything but the question for which they were gathered. Up to now the question of money has not been raised. The end of my term in Ukraine is soon coming to an end, so I will probably not see the question answered during my stay. This has made a big impression on me, since, generally, the victims and their families were left in difficult circumstances, without any support."

"I'll share one more observation," the ambassador continued. "It's unfortunate, but Kyiv has become less attractive than it was when I first came there to work - one can hear the Ukrainian language significantly less. Two cities that I like very much because of their authenticity and charm are Lviv and Odesa."

One audience member posed the question: "Often those who want to be repatriated to Israel name instances of anti-Semitism as a reason to leave [the country they're now in]. There is a common opinion that Jews and other ethnic minorities leave Ukraine because of political or social pressures. Do you share this opinion?"

"If this question is related to emigration to Israel, then the reason for emigration to Israel is not necessarily a flight from hardships," explained Ambassador Azari. "In Hebrew this is called 'going on high,' to the Holy Land. The process of repatriation is not necessarily something bad. When they speak about Ukraine from this point of view, I don't see this as a reason to leave this country, because of hardships based on one's religion or nationality. We have a network of state schools, lessons in the Hebrew language and Jewish culture, a joint effort between our Ministry of Education and Ukraine's. I don't want to answer for all [minorities], because I spoke more about the Jewish people than other minorities in Ukraine. I suppose there are people who do seek refuge for real reasons."

In an earlier interview for the Kyiv newspaper Dzerkalo Tyzhnia Ambassador Azari noted that "when analyzing the history of Jewish-Ukrainian relations, many researchers tend to instance only the tragic moments. In particular, this relates to those historians who describe the lives of the Jews in this country and concentrate their attention on pogroms and the participation of Ukrainians in the punitive actions of fascists. They speak significantly less about the generally good and neighborly relations.

"This is why one of the regular activities conducted under the aegis of the Israeli Consulate is naming 'Righteous of the nations of the world,' - those who saved Jews during World War II. This was real heroism. Standing up in defense of the persecuted, they placed their own families at risk. Generally, the subjects are simple people from small towns and villages. In Ukraine over 1,600 people have been so honored," she underscored.

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