KJF-2024: Dissident Natan Sharansky advises Israel to establish strategic cooperation with Ukraine

Soviet dissident, Israeli politician, and human rights activist Natan Sharansky believes that Israel should establish strategic cooperation with Ukraine, as their enemies have long established such cooperation among themselves.

He said this during a speech at the Fifth Kyiv Jewish Forum, which this year was held online with the main venue in Washington, D.C.

"Hezbollah has a lot of Russian weapons, Hamas has a lot of Russian weapons, and Ukraine is being attacked by Iranian drones. There is real strategic cooperation between Russia and Iran. I have worked very hard to convince our leaders (in Israel – ed.) that we should have strategic cooperation in this war. I think that our leaders now understand this, and I hope that this is already happening and will continue to happen more and more. Of course, we have very serious problems in the Middle East. They are not the same as the Ukrainian problems, but we are fighting the same axis of evil," Sharansky stated.

He emphasized that in the cases of Ukraine and Israel, it is about what the free world will look like in the future.

"Both wars are wars for the future of the free world. That is why it is very important to succeed," said the Israeli politician and human rights activist.

Sharansky believes that it is very important for the world that the US president be strong, because the weakness of American presidents "encourages the enemies of freedom." According to the former dissident, Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden showed their weakness in Syria and Afghanistan, and this is what untied Vladimir Putin's hands in the war against Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the presidency of Donald Trump, Sharansky recalled, brought "very powerful historical decisions" in favor of Israel.

"There is a widespread belief that Trump's election could be good for Israel and bad for Ukraine. But, first of all, I have always thought that this is not quite the case. And I have seen that in recent weeks my Ukrainian friends and Ukrainian leaders are also changing their minds," he said.

According to Sharansky, there are now more chances that "Putin will be ready for serious talks with Ukraine if Ukraine pushes for these talks."

"Therefore, I think there are more chances for stability in the conflict zones," he summarized.

This year's Kyiv Jewish Forum focuses on the topic of confronting the modern axis of evil, which is formed by Russia, Iran and North Korea. The forum is organized by the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine and The Jerusalem Post. Media partners of KJF-2024: NV, Oboz.ua, RBC-Ukraine, Telegraf.ua, Inter.

Let’s recall that during the opening of the forum, President of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine and Vice President of the World Jewish Congress Boris Lozhkin emphasized that Ukrainians and Israelis have high hopes for the return of the U.S. administration that has previously demonstrated its determination to help both Ukraine and Israel.