As Ukrainian Jewish leaders appear split over supporting the opposition movement protesting in Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, Ukraine’s Chief Rabbi is advocating the formation of a national unity government to resolve the country’s political crisis over its relationship with the European Union and Russia.

U.S.-born Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich, head of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine, told JTA on Monday that he was reaching out to opposition and government representatives in favor of unity within the framework of his involvement with the Uniting Ukraine committee — a forum for dialogue in civil society.

“If it is so important for Ukraine to enter the European Union, let the opposition come into government and discuss ways to deal with the Russian threat regarding the gas supply and closing the border for Ukrainian exports if Ukraine moves toward euro integration,” Bleich told JTA. “It is necessary for Ukrainians to pool their resources to avoid bankruptcy.”

On the other hand, Rabbi Moshe Azman, Chabad’s chief rabbi in Ukraine, told JTA the protests are “dangerous for the Jewish community.” They are described as a legitimate and peaceful expression of the “desire of the vast majority of the Ukrainian society to […] integrate into the European civilization” by Joseph Zissels and Meylakh Sheykhet of the Ukraine Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities, and the Union of Councils for the Jews in the Former Soviet Union, respectively.

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)