Ukraine's Chief Rabbi expresses disappointment over Israeli government performance amid Ukraine crisis

Rabbi Yaakov Bleich, the chief rabbi of Kyiv and Ukraine, told Israeli newspaper the Jerosalem Post he was disappointed with the Israeli government.

“The State of Israel does nothing for the local Jewish communities in the Ukraine unless they are considering making aliyah,” he said. “The Israeli government cares mainly about its citizens, and that’s a shame.”

“I asked Israeli officials who spoke to us: ‘What about security?’” Bleich said. “After all, the most important thing now is to increase the confidence in the local communities that there will be no provocations against Jews, as the Russians know how to do.”

“Secondly, communities need food aid for a few weeks,” he said. “We need to store food for our nursing homes, orphanages, communities, yeshivas, boarding schools and others. The Diaspora Ministry said perhaps they will be able to convince the Prime Minister’s Office to help us out.”

Bleich said he was not optimistic regarding Israel’s support for Jewish communities in Ukraine.