The Conundrum of a Just Response to Putin‘s War

Ukrainian dead body. Hands tied. Bullet in the head (NDTV)

The Ukraine was one of the most antisemitic countries in the world. Both my father and father-in-law assured me of that, having lived and grown up there before the Holocaust. And then surviving there with the help of some exceptionally heroic Ukrainian gentiles who risked their lives to save them. But those gentiles were the rare exception. Antisemitism there dated back centuries; and was rampant. The Jewish people were hated. A hatred that came out with a vengeance during the Holocaust. 

While there are well over 1000 Ukrainians that Israel has classified as righteous gentiles, there were hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians that were happy to become Hitler’s willing executioners. Often in the in the most brutal and horrific way one could ever imagine. I recall one case where all the Jews of one small rural Ukrainian town were herded into a barn; doors barred; and burned alive. 

Centuries of hatred that culminated in the atrocities of the Holocaust is one of the reasons I have said that European antisemitism is still alive and well in all of Europe. Although the Ukraine was perhaps the worst, much of Europe felt the same way. Pogroms against the Jews in all of Eastern Europe were fairly common for centuries. How else to explain the atrocities committed by so many Europeans against our people once they were given ‘permission’ by Nazi Germany to do it.

One may wonder why I bring this all up now in light of what is going on there. It is to explain why I felt so strongly about European antisemitism. And to admit that I was wrong to assume that it is still the case today. 

Clearly the majority of Ukrainians today harbor no ill  feelings toward the Jewish people. Everyone gets along well there now. There are no pogroms. Any antisemitism that does exist is not all that different than it is in other countries. Including the US. Mostly taking place among fringe groups. Being Jewish obviously no longer precludes leading the country Today Ukrainians are not victimizers. They are all victims. Victims of atrocities - same as our people were during the Holocaust - although obviously not to the same degree or scale. 

Ukraine’s Jewish President, Volodymyr  Zelensky has been criticized for making that comparison. But he ought to be cut some slack in this regard. We are not in his shoes and experiencing what he and his people are going through. He is simply trying to make the case that the Ukrainian people need the world to step up.

The daily images coming out of there are extremely difficult to watch. It is impossible for me to see the carnage; pain, and suffering without feeling a tremendous sense of sympathy for what Ukrainians are going through. Young Ukrainians suffering today are not responsible for what their grandparents did – and many may not even be aware of it.

What I witnessed in today’s news almost brought me to tears. The Russian pullout from Kyiv left a trail of civilian dead bodies strewn all over the street – some of which had their hands tied behind their backs  seemingly shot execution style. Mass graves were found - some with the bodies of naked women whose bodies were burned to destroy evidence of rape. The level of destruction I saw today is the worst I have ever seen since watch images of the Holocaust. One mother featured on the news this morning showed her crying bitterly as she described burying her 22 year old only son in a shallow grave.

Zelensky has called this genocide. I don’t know if this technically qualifies. But’s it’s pretty darn close. Although - again - no where near in scale to the Holocaust. The brutality of the Russian army against  Ukrainians is reminiscent of what Nazis did to our people back then - before they devised the ‘final solution’ which accelerated the genocide.

The moral outrage of the world is palpable. I don’t see how it can be otherwise after watching the atrocities committed by a Russia to a country that did nothing to the country attacking it. A nation whose people just a few short weeks ago were living their lives pretty much the same way all peace loving people do. Working; going to school, playing, and doing all the things people all over the free world do on a daily basis.  And then suddenly and brutally attacked by  Putin’s Russia with a vengeance. 

War crimes have clearly been committed. There is no doubt about that.  Innocent people were tortured,  raped, and murdered. Survivors are completely traumatized. Many having lost their homes and all their possessions... with no place to go - or the means to get there if they did. In just a few short weeks the people of Ukriane have gone from relative peace and tranquility to torture and destruction. 

The question is what is the world going to do about it? I can’t answer the question. It appears that all the crippling sanctions placed upon Russia by the civilized world have not done a thing to discourage Putin. The only thing that has had any effect on  his military is the determination of the brave Ukrainian people and their leader Volodomyr Zelensky to fight back. They have accomplished what most of the rest of the world considered the impossible.  They have caused the mighty Russian army to retreat.  But the Russians have not given up. Their military is ultimately still bigger and stronger than the Ukrainian military. By far. Sanctions and world condemnation do not see to matter much  to Putin.

Is the world at its own wits end? Are we bereft of any remedy? Is the fear of nuclear confrontation going to be the world’s ‘Waterloo’? If it is, then Putin is free to do whatever he wants with relative impunity. 

That said, nuclear war is not an option. And surely must be avoided  At the same time we cannot just stand by and watch what is happening to the Ukrainian people and do nothing. Because that is just as immoral as  the bystanders during the Holocaust that watched it happen to us and did nothing.