Israel’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, delivered the keynote address at the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Award for Journalism Recognizing Excellence in Diaspora Reportage for 2022, held on July 6 in Jerusalem.
In a wide-ranging speech Ambassador Brodsky said that Israel has no strategic interest in Ukraine except, perhaps, the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslow which is a magnet for tens of thousands of Israelis annually.
Ambassador Brodsky said: "The war takes place at a far distance from Israel and the Middle East, in an area that has always been on the periphery of Israel’s national interests.
Yet the war in Ukraine has several direct implications for Israel, most of them negative, making Israel an inseparable part of what is happening, whether it likes it or not.
The many areas in which the war in Ukraine has a significant impact on Israel turn a war that ostensibly is not Israel’s, into a war that is ours, presenting Israel with very difficult choices between being part of the West and maintaining Israel’s strategic interests with respect to Russia, a superpower.
So far, Israel has managed to maneuver in a pretty good way, choosing to be relatively cautious, yet with a clear line of solidarity with Ukraine while being careful about everything it does or says.
Israel is also impacted by questions of food security arising from the war. Ukraine has always been considered the world’s breadbasket. Half of the wheat Israel imports comes from Ukraine.
Today it is difficult to ship the wheat because of the closures of Black Sea ports.
This could lead to many negative developments for Israel and for the entire region, creating a shortage of wheat not just for Israel but the wider Middle East, in countries that are far less developed such as Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco.
The weakening of Russia in the Middle East, exemplified by its partial retreat from Syria, is not necessarily good for Israel because the vacuum that has been created was quickly seized by Iranian forces, Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations. This makes Russia much more agitated and sensitive to any damage to its interests in the Middle East and therefore it could also impact on Israel’s leeway in the Middle East in general and in Syria in particular.
The war has also impacted the high tech sector in Israel that employs 30,000 Ukrainian programmers and the construction industry that relies on materials and some construction workers from Ukraine that are no longer available which could lead to an increase in already-high housing costs.
From the first days of the war, the ‘Jewish card’ has been used by both sides in the conflict. Ethnicity – including Jewish ethnicity – is at the heart of the conflict in Ukraine now.
The war has rendered a significant blow to the Jewish world because there is a disconnect today between the Russian Jewish community and Jewish communities in Ukraine and the West.
Just as Russia is sanctioned, the large and glorious Jewish community there will find itself under international sanctions from Jewish communities and organizations.
As far as the State of Israel is concerned it would be best for this war to end as soon as possible; It has not one position implication. This is indeed Israel’s war, although so far it has been exposed only to the tip of the iceberg; the most significant implications lay ahead," the ambassador concluded.