Ambassador of Israel to Ukraine Eliav Belotserkovsky in his speech at the Jewish educational festival "Limud" in Odessa for the first time commented on the opening of the monument Petlyura in Vinnitsa.
"It's not a concrete statue in Vinnitsa that matters, but a trend," the Israeli ambassador said addressing the participants of the event. "Nationalism raises its head." "Israeli diplomats have already encountered this, and we are trying to understand how to influence this phenomenon, using the available resources," Belotserkovsky added. "We constantly interact with members of the Ukrainian government, and in general, Israel is treated well here."
Monument to the chief ataman of the troops of the Ukrainian People's Republic Simon Petliura was opened in Vinnitsa on October 14. The installation of the monument was condemned by the World Jewish Congress (WJC), whose leadership called Petlyura a "cruel barbarian" and indicated that he "is undoubtedly responsible for the pogroms in which 35-40 thousand Jews were killed." In the 1980s, the fact that Petlyura was honored in the very city where he and his regime were trying to destroy the Jewish population was called "not recognizable".
"Limud Ukraine" was held from October 19 to 22 in Odessa.