Natan Sharansky, a former prisoner of Zion and deputy prime minister, is convinced that Israel made a mistake by trying to stay neutral regarding the war in Ukraine. "We of course have interests when it comes to Russia and Ukraine, but we should have said from day one that the Russian attack and unjustified targeting of the civilian population are unacceptable."
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It's not just the moral consideration that should have led Israel to adopt a clearer position, says Sharansky. The diplomatic calculation also supports this view: Ukraine is going to play an important role in the global balance of power structure, and it's in Israel's interest that Ukraine remember Israel for standing by its side and helping it in its time of need.
"How can it be that the Ukrainians beg us for a field hospital, Israel throws around promises for an entire week, and in the end, the finance minister says we don't have the funds?" wonders Sharansky.
He recalls how he acted as a minister in former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's first government to thwart a supply of Ukrainian and Russian-manufactured nuclear industrial equipment earmarked for Iran. "Russia refused to listen to the Israeli case at the time, while in Ukraine we were able to convince then-President [Leonid] Kuchma not to fulfill his commitments to the Iranians and not sell them turbines for a nuclear power plant," says Sharansky.
Sharansky blames the Americans, namely the Obama administration, for teaching Russian President Vladimir Putin that he can blackmail the world in general and Israel in particular.
"Because of Obama and the West's weakness, Russia was handed the keys to Syria, and the Iranians received billions of dollars. The West's basic weakness is patently obvious: It is afraid of confronting Putin. Recently he even raised the stakes with implicit threats of using nuclear weapons, and what was the West's response? It actually canceled the annual test of the intercontinental ballistic missile that can carry a nuclear warhead. In the eyes of the West, this step was meant to avoid exacerbating tensions. In the eyes of Putin, this was a sign of weakness. In Soviet prison, I learned who controls the cell. Not the strongest, but the person willing at any given moment to fight the other, and even kill. Putin is exactly like this, and the West, instead of being a deterrent, it deterred," he said.
"Two factors woke the free world up," Sharansky continued, "Ukraine's heroism and Putin's barbarism. The methodical and brutal way he is erasing entire cities in the heart of Europe is causing alarm. Of all people, the man who claims Ukrainians are not a nation is the one making the world care about Ukraine and hold it in high regard. Just as importantly, Putin delivered a gigantic blow to Russia and its place as an influential player straddling the East-West divide. It will take Russia a very long time, perhaps hundreds of years, to restore its moral legitimacy and its place in human civilization.
"The Ukrainians' readiness to fight for their liberty surprised both Putin and Western leaders. The sanctions imposed on Russia are not enough to change Putin's course of action, but they still reflect unprecedented solidarity from the free world with a nation fighting evil. The question remains whether the West will uphold sanctions over time."
Q: How do you assess Israel's actions this far?
"I very much hope that [Prime Minister Naftali] Bennett knows something I don't and that he's playing some sort of positive role. Otherwise, if this is just his attempt at PR and trying to stack up to [former Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu as 'someone who can talk to Putin,' Israel is liable to pay a steep diplomatic price. As for immigration, we must use this opportunity to bring hundreds of thousands of people eligible under the Law of Return to Israel. Maybe Israel should have left its envoys in Ukraine to handle this issue, and we certainly need to find a solution to the long lines of people interested in emigrating from Russia. Israel wasn't ready for this situation, and we need to wake up. Special times call for special measures," Sharansky said.
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