11:47 05.10.2019

Both Ukraine and Israel will have to cope with the problem of lack of unity - Lozhkin

3 min read
Both Ukraine and Israel will have to cope with the problem of lack of unity - Lozhkin

Both Ukraine and Israel will have to cope with the problem of lack of unity, especially when they have to face the external aggression. Indeed, the chances of the survival of our states directly depend on the unity. This has been stated  by the President of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine Boris Lozhkin in his comments about the first solemn meeting of the Knesset, where the newly elected Knesset deputies took the oath of office.

As Lozhkin noted, this is already the 22nd convocation of the Israeli parliament, and the first Knesset swearing in, which he happened to visit. The central theme of the speeches of both the President Reuven Rivlin and the Knesset Speaker Julius Edelstein was the national unity.

“This topic is especially relevant for Israel today- just half a year ago, for the first time in the history of the state, the parliament failed to form a coalition in the allotted time. The Knesset was dissolved, new elections were held. After announcement of their results, the Israelis began jokingly preparing for the third elections during one year. However, it may not be a joke — the votes were divided between the main contenders almost evenly, but none of them, according to the preliminary estimates, will be able to form a coalition without the other. Last time they were unable to reach a compromise. We will find out very soon if they manage to do it this time,” he noted.

Lozhkin recalled Julius Edelstein’s words that it was the lack of national unity that already twice had led to the collapse of the independent Jewish state – the United Monarchy and the Hasmonean state.

“When the Jews fought against an external enemy, they were able to crush empires. But as soon as a civil war between the Jews themselves began, everything collapsed like a house of cards. This topic is familiar not only to the Israelis. The history of Ukraine is full of similar examples: from the Kyivan Rus to the Ukrainian National Republic (UNR). It is a great challenge to solve the problem of lack of national unity, especially in the presence of the external aggression. Both Israel and Ukraine will have to do their best to achieve it, as the chances of survival of our states directly depend on how united we are,” emphasized the JCU President.

Earlier, on September 29, a March was held in Kyiv in memory of the Jews who were executed in Babi Yar in 1941. According to the President of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine, Borys Lozhkin, more than half a thousand people took part in the March.

 

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