Naomi BEN-AMI: Israelis are united by danger and strong democracy

“Ukraine and Israel have maintained stable and constructive relations, especially after they solved the painful problem of compensation for the families of those killed in the Tu-154 plane crash. In what fields do you think we could make more progress?”

“Undoubtedly, in the economic field. In general, I think there is no longer such a thing as pure politics and diplomacy: everything is based on economic interests. The fact that there are no problems in our bilateral relations means that we can focus on economic cooperation. There are many areas of common interest, including high technologies, agriculture, medicine, and military-technical cooperation. Incidentally, the latter might be more successful. I hope this year we will manage to make headway in this field also.”

“You worked in the Israeli Embassy in Moscow for several years. Does the angle of view you acquired there affect your vision of Ukrainian reality?”

“No, it doesn’t. Still, I was worried before going to Ukraine. First, I was really concerned about how I would work here after Moscow, and, secondly, Ukraine is my ancestral home. Sometimes I am not looked upon as a foreign diplomat.”

“Does the Jewish community of Ukraine continue to shrink or has its size stabilized?”

“Immigration from Ukraine to Israel is on the decline for such objective reasons as economic recession in our country caused by world market processes. This is why many Ukrainian-born citizens of Israel are coming back here without abandoning Israeli citizenship. They work here. I see nothing wrong in this. On the contrary, this promotes bilateral ties which are indeed on the rise. There are many air flights connecting Ukraine and Israel, and the planes never fly empty.”

“How would you assess the development of interethnic relations in Ukraine?”

“There is no state-sponsored anti-Semitism in Ukraine. As to what occurs in everyday life situations mostly concerns people who are not aware of what they are saying. This is wrong and dangerous.

“Israel believes it should eschew interference in the internal affairs of any country. Stable interethnic relations is Ukraine’s internal problem. This problem should be tackled here, inside the country, by the citizens of Ukraine. I think you should fight against dangerous trends that emerge in society. At the same time, we condemn any manifestations of anti-Semitism in any country, because it is anti-Semitism today but something else tomorrow...”

“It is important to remember not only the negative points of our common history but also the fact that many builders of the State of Israel, for example, Golda Meir, hailed from Ukraine. One always wants to reread some books after visiting Israel. Did you think about organizing some sort of literary tourism between Ukraine and Israel?”

“We are working on this. Perhaps it’s not exactly literary tourism. I early September Ukraine was visited by a delegation of 200 Israeli defense officers. In two incomplete days they managed to conduct a mourning ceremony at Babyn Yar, lay flowers on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and make contact with Kyiv’s Jewish community. It was sort of a trial visit. The officers said they usually visited a different country every year. But I recently received a telegram that the delegation is going to visit Odesa in the summer. I understood that Ukraine had enchanted them.

“Incidentally, I discussed with Ukraine’s minister of education the possibility of travel for young people. It is almost a must for Israeli senior schoolchildren to visit Auschwitz. So I thought about trying to organize school pupils’ visits to Ukraine. Because, as you rightly noted, Israeli schools teach about Golda Meir, Jabotinsky, Sholom Aleichem, and others. I think it would be interesting to go to Ukraine on an excursion like this. This will help in a way to better understand history and the problems that have affected the two people’s interrelationship for many years.”

“Have you seen yet Bohdan Stupka in Tevie-Tevele?”

“Not yet, but I have heard very much about this theatrical production. I am sure to see it. I derive great pleasure from the theater. Still, I cannot so far afford to spend much time going to the theater.”

“Although the Israeli Cultural Center in Kyiv is quite active, we know very little a bout Israel’s modern art. We suspect most Israelis equally do not know much about Ukraine’s modern art... Meanwhile, modern art is just the thing that could help us know each other better.”

“I absolutely agree with you. Unfortunately, culture has been increasingly linked in the past few years to money, the thing we are always short of. We also feel the squeeze of budget funding. This applies not only to the processes that occur in Israel. Cultural ties with other countries are also affected. We try to work as effectively as we can with what little we have.”

“Why not hold a culinary festival or, say, a competition in pike-stuffing? It is a very fine art!”

“We plan to hold a Week of Israel in May, but I didn’t think about cooking. Thank you for this idea. By the way, it is here that the stuffed pike is eaten, the Israelis prefer to stuff the carp.”

“Israel absorbs people from various countries, people of different mentalities. How easy is this ‘fusion’?”

“It is undoubtedly a painful process. Yet, it continues. Israeli society has been changing ever since our state was established. The most striking changes have occurred in he past few decades because of a powerful wave of immigrants from the former Soviet Union. This does not mean that the process has become less painful. Israel receives people from former Soviet republics, Western Europe, the Americas, Ethiopia... Still, everybody who wants to stay behind in our country becomes an Israeli citizen.”

“It would seem like everybody would want to want to leave Israel and get as far away as possible from this dangerous region. That this doesn’t happen seems like a miracle.”

“I think the very existence of our country is a miracle. Israel is inhabited by the Israelis. We do not have another country. We must defend it. We must live in it, as other people do in their countries.”