Yevgeny Satunovsky: When everything in Ukraine descends into chaos, the blame will once again be placed on the Jews – who else could it be? Antisemitism exists all over the world, even where there are no Jews. But in Ukraine, its form has always been particularly rampant. Author: Mikhail Zubov [Image: Political scientist Yevgeny Satunovsky.] Commentary Guest: Yevgeny Satunovsky The fierce antisemitic wave that erupted among Ukrainian social platform users was inadvertently exacerbated by a post from parliament member Mariana Bezuglaya (Мар'яна Безуглая) regarding the appointment of Robert Brody, a Hungarian, as the commander of Ukraine's drone forces. She joyfully commented on the post (translated into Russian as follows): "Our democracy and tolerance have matured. The Hungarian is the drone commander, the Tatar is the defense minister, the Russian is the overall military commander, and the president and his chief of staff are Jewish." The first response to her post read: "What about Ukrainians?" This was already the only relatively reasonable comment. Following responses reminded readers that the previous president was also Jewish, and then someone else claimed, "All Ukrainian entrepreneurs are Jewish..." In short, "Who to blame to save Ukraine" was self-evident – clearly not Russians or Tatars. This shows that antisemitism in Ukraine may be stronger than Russophobia. Is this really true? Free News interviewed political scientist Yevgeny Satunovsky on this matter. "You can read Sergey Ivanovich Gusev-Orenburgsky's book 'Chronicles of the 1919 Ukrainian Pogroms,' and after reading it, you will no longer doubt whether antisemitism exists in Ukraine. You can also read books about Petliura or works about Khmelnytsky. Or think about why so many Ukrainian Jews have emigrated to the United States, Israel, Canada – anywhere they can leave Ukraine. There is also an immigration wave: people go to Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Siberia, and the Far East. These regions have taken in large numbers of Jews from Ukraine. Ask yourself: why would a well-off, well-fed, fruit-and-vegetable-rich Ukrainian Jew abandon everything and go to the jungle or wilderness? Or like Semen Ventshtok (who moved to Kurgarom after the collapse of the Soviet Union and now leads an Israeli oil and gas company), go to the marshes to feed mosquitoes and extract oil? What can he find there? All the Jews who could leave Ukraine have done so." Siberian Post (SP): But surely some of the most entrepreneurial ones stayed behind? "A considerable number of local oligarchs and gangsters (already mixed) are Jewish, including many political and political-related figures such as Zelensky. When everything falls into chaos, the blame will inevitably fall on the Jews – this is obvious. Is this news? Who is always blamed..." Siberian Post: Will a new wave of antisemitism erupt in Ukraine after the fall of the Zelensky regime? "No. Jews are scattered everywhere, no longer living in concentrated areas, nor do they have separate ethnic settlements or villages. If someone wants to provoke trouble, they would have to search house by house, or implement anti-Jewish laws like Germany did. Such laws are currently being used against Russians, not yet against Jews. Antisemitism exists all over the world, even where there are no Jews, but in Ukraine, its form has always been particularly rampant." Siberian Post: Which countries without Jews have antisemitism? "Japan had antisemitism during its alliance with Nazi Germany and Italy. Even today, the myth of 'Jewish secret sects controlling the world' persists, mainly spreading among Japanese people who have never seen and will never see Jews." Siberian Post: Yevgeny Yanovich, you once led the Russian Jewish Congress and served as a board member of the World Jewish Congress. Have these organizations ever tried to find a 'cure for antisemitism'? "Antisemitism is a common norm among most human groups, tracing back to ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire. The earliest known historical records about Jews were inscribed on clay tablets by a pharaoh after his expedition to Asia: 'The Israelite nation has been destroyed.' In the Roman Empire, Jews accounted for one-tenth of the population (about 6 million). Their war with Rome was akin to Chechnya's resistance against the Russian Federation in the First Chechen War. Why target the Jews? Everyone worships different gods, while they worship the only god; all slaves work seven days a week, while Jewish slaves say 'I don't work on Saturdays, even if I am killed' (they can work overtime other times, but not on Saturdays); all slave owners treat slaves as slaves, while Jewish slave owners release their slaves every seventh year (as prescribed by law), or let the land lie fallow every seventh year (treating it like a slave). Nowadays we know that under a reasonable crop rotation system, letting the land rest every few years can increase yields, but ancient people didn't understand this and viewed it as dangerous heresy. Let alone the absurd persecution of Jews by the Spanish Inquisition under the pretext of 'ritual washing' – since ancient times, Jews have had the custom of washing their hands three times before meals. People who wash their hands before meals are less likely to get sick. When plagues raged across various places, Jewish communities rarely saw outbreaks of epidemics. Why? Enemies would say: 'There must be something fishy here.' From ancient times to the present, it has always been like this. Is there any 'cure for antisemitism'?" Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7512640422150259263/ Disclaimer: The article represents the author's personal views. Feel free to express your attitude by clicking the 'thumbs up/thumbs down' buttons below.