On the 20th March 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Israeli Knesset. In his address, he reminded them of the words of Golda Meir, Israel’s first and only female Prime Minister, born in Kyiv, who led Israel through the 1973 Yom Kippur War. ‘We intend to remain alive. Our neighbors want to see us dead. This is not a question that leaves much room for compromise.’ In his video address, Zelensky highlighted the intertwined stories of Ukrainians and Jews, both of whom have historically faced aggression from enemies intent on genocide.
Today it is 85 years since the Kristallnacht pogrom that claimed the lives of 91+ Jews in Germany. Yet unfortunately nothing has changed. On 7th October, just over a month ago, we were reminded again that the world’s oldest hatred is alive and well. Whole families slaughtered in their homes; children set on fire by modern-day anti-Semites. The horrors of the 7th October pogrom that claimed the lives of over 1,400 Israelis will be remembered for many decades to come.
Just as 7th October 2023 will be remembered by Israelis, the 24th February 2022 will be memorialized by Ukrainians. Since the start of Russia’s full scale invasion, Ukraine has suffered 27,449 civilian casualties.1 The reactions to these two wars by some in the West, however, has been markedly different. While Russia’s full-scale invasion on 20 March 2022 resulted in almost universal condemnation from politicians, journalists and celebrities across the West, the largest pogrom against Jews since the Holocaust led to victim-blaming from some and outright support from others. Every weekend since this horrific racist attack on Jews by Palestinian terrorists, London’s streets have been filled with pro-Palestine demonstrations calling for the destruction of Israel “from the river to the sea”. Imagine for a moment if there had been pro-Russia demonstrations, attracting over 100,000 people every weekend since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Would the Met Police and journalists be falling over themselves to defend these deplorable demonstrations? Would the Home Secretary be condemned by opposition politicians and accused of stoking divisions for calling these protests “hate marches”?
While Ukrainian defenders have rightly been praised in their war of self-defense, the Israelis have been demonized for “war crimes” while bombing Hamas strongholds in Gaza. The socialist magazine Novara Media are a perfect example of this supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia, whilst at the same time condemning Israel and attempting to play-down reports of increased anti-Semitism.23 Still, Novara has at least taken a more moral stance on foreign policy than than Socialist Worker, which has been more consistent in arguing against support for both Ukraine and Israel.45 Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of the Labour Party has also opposed support for both countries, instead calling for an end to the violence. Although I disagree with Corbyn’s pacifist position, at least it is consistent.
Indeed, while in a democratic society we should be free to disagree about foreign policy and the morality of war, I believe that we should at the very least aim for consistency. While most politicians in the West have come out in support of Ukraine and Israel, the calls for ceasefire by the Welsh and Scottish Parliaments, as well as from senior Labour Party figures demonstrate that there is a long way to go before the United Kingdom can say that we truly stand with Israel against terrorism. In my view, if you support national sovereignty and Western liberal democratic values then you should stand in solidarity with both Ukraine and Israel. Additionally we must recognize that the 21st Century faces a new axis of evil. Just like Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan fought against the free world in the 1940s, today Russia and Iran are engaged in a war against our fundamental values: liberty, democracy and national sovereignty. If we are consistent in our values then we must stand up for our allies on the world stage and assist them in defeating the new fascists. This will involve higher military spending at levels that will be financially costly. It will also possibly involve military action if either wars escalate or spill over into regional conflicts. Of course, peace will need to be achieved in the long term, but this must be on terms that are acceptable and do not reward violence or lead to further violence in the future.
Above all, a truly progressive foreign policy will realize that nation states must determine their own futures. Foreign aid must not be used to leverage Ukraine or Israel into concessions that are not acceptable to them from a security perspective. The end goal must be for there to be an established security agreement to ease tensions and prevent future conflict. Diplomatic efforts will also need to be made as we attempt to engage with China and India who have taken a neutral stance on recent conflicts. This new security challenge must not become a new cold war between the West and the Global South. Instead we must convince developing countries that it is not in their interest to have aggressive powers and conflict zones on their borders. Now is not the time for America and its allies to withdraw into selfish isolationism. It is not in our interest to allow hostile states to establish spheres of influence, which would only make the world a more dangerous place as whole countries would become breeding grounds for terrorism and anti-West extremism. To prevent this, a new security architecture will need to be established, working with allies across the world. Challenging the new axis of evil will not be easy and will involve significant trade-offs as the free world rearms itself militarily and economically in response to a more dangerous world. Nevertheless, an acknowledgement must be made that compromise with terrorists is not an option. The plight of Israel is the same as that of Ukraine. You can’t negotiate with a crocodile when your head is in its mouth.
Ukraine: civilian casualty update 24 September 2023 | OHCHR
Ukraine’s Resistance Still Needs Our Solidarity | Novara Media
The Israeli War Machine Runs on Jewish Fear | Novara Media
More arms to Ukraine guarantees bloodshed (socialistworker.co.uk)
Why Palestinians are right to resist Israel (socialistworker.co.uk)