It’s Time for Israel to Arm Ukraine

It’s Time for Israel to Arm Ukraine

By Dmitri Shufutinsky

A weakened Russia is in the best interests of Israel. We have beaten them before and can again. Historic Russian antisemitism continues to reverberate today, while Ukraine’s war for continued independence deeply resonates with our own War for Independence nearly 8 decades ago. 

 The debate on whether Israel should supply Ukraine with arms to fight off the illegal Russian invasion seemed to make some level of sense seven months ago. Israel has a large population with roots in Russia, and Russian Jews could be in danger of being behind the Iron Curtain once again. The concern of Russian antisemitism is never far behind in the rear-view, and as the world’s only Jewish-majority state, Israel is obviously concerned with the Russian-Jewish community’s well-being.  

However, with increasing hostility towards Jerusalem emanating from the Kremlin, as well as Iranian involvement in the war, the Jewish state must reconsider its neutral stance. If Israel wants to retain its regional military dominance along with its close ties to the West, it must take a harsh stance against the Kremlin and help finish off the Russian presence in the Near East. 

As an Israeli of partially Soviet background, I have mixed feelings about the entire affair. On one hand, I’m heartened to see most Israelis supporting Ukraine. My own town of Hadera, with a significant Soviet-Jewish population, has several Ukrainian flags waving in the air from apartment balconies and homesteads. Most of the Soviet-Jewish population loathes Putin and supports Kyiv in this war. And our government has provided much-needed humanitarian aid to Ukraine while absorbing tens of thousands (so far) of new immigrants and other refugees from the former USSR. And yet, Jerusalem so far has failed to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs so desperately to force the Russians to withdraw. 

Some of this was based on realpolitik. Israel’s warming relations with Moscow and the delicate security situation in Syria regarding Iran meant that Jerusalem needed to consider Russian requests regarding the war. Yet now, eight months into this atrocious and failed invasion, there is no reason for Israel to continue to be so reluctant. Our Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, has already clearly sided with Kyiv in this battle and made the main point of his premiership to repair ties with the West. What better way to do this than to arm Ukraine?

Israel has consistently outperformed the Russian Armed Forces in the region, both in quality of troops and quality of weaponry. Leaving aside the fact that the Israeli military crushed Soviet-armed Arab armies and terrorists numerous times in the 20th Century (and early this century too), Azerbaijan’s 2020 war against Armenia and the current rounds of conflict further make this point. Israeli-made drones provided to Baku easily destroyed Russian tanks, armored vehicles, and air defense systems like the S-300 given to Yerevan. Russia has evacuated its S-300 system in Syria to the frontlines in Ukraine. Israeli air strikes have devastated Russia’s erstwhile allies in Syria and elsewhere, with Moscow choosing to look the other way. It isn’t that the Russians ignored or approved these strikes because they liked them—it’s because they wanted to avoid the embarrassment of their most sophisticated weapon systems failing against those of the Jews—whom they have painted as inferior and troublesome for centuries. Indeed, knowing what we now know about the Russian military, it seems Israel was jittery over Syria for the past several years for no reason. 

Ukraine now is battling against a far larger and better-equipped army, with some allies supplying Kyiv with arms whilst hoping for a diplomatic solution. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it is. In 1948, even those countries deeply sympathetic to the Jewish people after the Holocaust urged us to wait for an undetermined future moment to strike up a diplomatic accord with the Arabs—an entity that was better equipped, wealthier, and numerically superior to us. Only our sheer willpower over several decades—along with the corruption, yes-men, and sheer incompetence that accompanies authoritarian armed forces—allowed us to destroy the armed forces of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria several times over and maintain our independence ever since. Similarly, Ukraine cannot be expected to negotiate with Vladimir Putin. The man is a pathological liar, with no intention of negotiating, and has never kept his word on previous deals. The Ukrainian people are indeed related to Russians and other Slavs, just as Jews are the cousins of Arabs. But each has its own distinct identities and history. Ukrainians have no reason nor the will to “reintegrate” with Russia. Those who think a diplomatic solution is possible with Putin seem to ignore the fact that he never keeps his word. Such leaders, like John Kerry and Angela Merkel, are from a bygone era that must be left behind. And while Ukraine’s allies have mostly been unwavering, rising energy prices, domestic troubles in Western countries, and a post-COVID recession may make that support waver. 

Israel’s government must consider a few things when it comes to Ukraine. Firstly, if it wishes to please the West, it must unequivocally support Ukraine with everything it can spare. Secondly, Russia is an enemy, not a friend—this has been made clear for a long time. There’s a reason that the newest immigrants to Israel this year have come from Russia—even more than Belarus and Ukraine. Skinhead neo-fascists have become commonplace in Russia, much as they were during the days of imperial-era pogroms. Finally, the lasting effects of Soviet antisemitism are still with us, courtesy of the Russian Federation. Moscow continues to host Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, give them weapons and diplomatic backing, and support the UN-led war against Israel in diplomatic terms. Moscow has continued to make threats and give ultimatums to Israel, and its government shamefully has acted as “the Court Jew” instead of as a regional superpower that is also a “Light unto Nations.” Recently, Iran has also started sending military equipment to Moscow in the form of drones and ballistic missiles. While the Jewish state has been providing intelligence on this to Kyiv, it is in Israel’s interest to have Iran waste its arsenal in Europe. Israel should help to destroy these inferior-yet-concerning weapons in the skies before they kill civilians or get more testing. Furthermore, Israel has a large Ukrainian diaspora. There is truly no reason for Israel to support Russia or neutrality over Ukraine. Finally, as Vladimir Lenin said— “where you find mush, you push.” It is in Israel’s best interest to extirpate Russia from the Middle East. Russia is the New Sick Man of Europe. Its population lifespan is in terminal decline, with little immigration, an abysmal birthrate, and high abortion rates. The few youths remaining that haven’t been jailed or effectively exiled are being sent to die like dogs on the Ukrainian steppe. The country’s economy is nearing a severe depression, and its military has been exposed as a hollow shell and a Paper Bear. Israel has been fearing Russia for little to no reason, apparently. It cannot remain a great power for much longer if it ever was one to begin with. It has done nothing to stop Armenia-Azerbaijan or Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan clashes under its own security association, because it is unable to do so. If the Jewish State wants to be a modern pro-Western democracy, and a leader in the Middle East, it must show leadership by ceasing this intimidation by the Kremlin and finally helping to nail Putin’s regime into the coffin and six feet under.