editorials
Hard Choices
A mericans are worried about the price of gas at Americans to sacrifice too much in pushing back that cooperation.

In addition, there are 600,000 Jews in Russia
the pump, fueled by the panic in the world oil against the Russian dictator. But if we are really
serious about
nonmilitary measures
to stop
a and
tens of thousands of Israelis, many of whom
market caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

belligerent country
from invading
and attempting
want to return to Israel. Their lifeline to Israel is
Thus far, comprehensive Western sanctions meant
to swallow
its neighbors,
killing thousands
of civil-
twice-daily flights on El Al. But once the interna-
to bring Russia to its economic knees have avoided
ians and
setting off
a wave
of millions
of refugees,
tional sanctions
began, insurers of those flights
measures relating to fossil fuels. This has allowed
perhaps we
need to
consider taking
some greater
dropped their
coverage. And so, at an unan-
Russia to exploit its chief means of obtaining hard
financial risk
in order
to achieve
a moral
result. nounced
1 a.m.

meeting on
March 4, the Knesset
currency from seriously dependent customers
Finance Committee
agreed to cover
in Europe and elsewhere, even
uninsured losses
up to $2 billion, so
as it struggles to cope with other
Why have
the West’s
sanctions against
Russian that
El Al
could continue
to fly its Tel
increasingly debilitating economic
Aviv-Moscow route.

constraints. aggression in Ukraine not included limitations on the
Then, in a surprising develop-
Which begs the question: Why
lucrative oil
and gas
sales that
keep Vladimir
Putin ment
last Shabbat, Israeli Prime
have the West’s sanctions against
Minister Naftali Bennett, who was
Russian aggression in Ukraine not
and his
cronies in
power? criticized
for his initial lack of out-
included limitations on the lucrative
rage over
the Russian invasion, flew
oil and gas sales that keep Vladimir
to Moscow
to meet
with Putin. Their three-hour
The analysis
is even
more complicated
for Putin and his cronies in power? And why hasn’t
meeting —
reportedly preceded
by consultations
Israel. As
a Western
democracy, Israel
is being
the U.S. announced expanded production, further
with Ukrainian
President Volodymyr
Zelensky called
upon to
participate in
the economic
and release of reserves and export of petroleum, and
and the
Biden administration,
among others
— political
boycott of
Russia. In
the UN
General a plan to increase the availability of natural gas to
make up for any Russian shortfall?
Assembly, Israel was among 141 nations that fueled speculation about Bennett serving as a
Economists and energy experts will argue both voted to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. At mediator in the Ukraine conflict. That may be
sides of the question. But from a political per- the same time, Russia’s reach extends to Israel’s wishful thinking.

Either way, if Putin’s merciless aggression con-
spective, it appears that no one wants to risk a northern border, where Iran works to spread its
1970s-like energy crisis, or force Americans to influence in Syria and Lebanon. From time to tinues in the rapidly deteriorating Ukraine war,
pay too much for wars and international crises. In time, Israel launches air strikes into Syria, which the West is going to have to make some hard
other words, there is bipartisan reluctance to ask Russia permits, and Israel cannot afford to lose choices. JE
Biden Leans Center
R ussia’s invasion of Ukraine properly got top
billing in President Joe Biden’s State of the
Union address last week. It was the leading issue on
everyone’s mind. The president’s forceful expressions
of support for Ukraine earned applause and nods
of approval from both Democrats and Republicans.

In the moment, these signs of national unity were a
welcome change from the toxic partisanship that has
infected politics in our country.

But Biden’s address was very much a speech
in two parts. The first part focused on Ukraine,
while the second was a more traditional address,
focused on domestic policy. Yet, it was the second
part of the speech that was most noteworthy. As
expected, Biden’s domestic discussion covered
a wide range of topics — inflation, paid family
leave, prescription drug prices, voting rights and
more. And, also as expected, the second part
mostly brought Democrats to their feet in applause
while Republicans stayed seated. But there were
moments that drew bipartisan support, in response
to signals that Biden is moving his presidency to
the center — somewhat reminiscent of Bill Clinton’s
successful triangulation strategy in the 1990s.

20 MARCH 10, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
For Biden, the subtle shift was natural, as he
is moving back to his centrist comfort zone. He
talked about things both parties support, such as
infrastructure, supporting veterans’ health care
needs and conquering cancer. And he spoke
about his support for funding the police in the
wake of the epidemic of police killings of Black
Americans. “The answer is not to defund the
police. It’s to fund the police,” Biden said to
resounding applause. “Fund them. Fund them.

Fund them with resources and training, resources
and training they need to protect their communi-
ties.” The pitch was nothing new. Biden was already
on record as disagreeing with his party’s pro-
gressives who call for a new model for law
enforcement that would transfer some public
safety responsibilities to other agencies. But his
staking out the centrist position of support for law
enforcement in his most consequential speech
of the year could be significant if it helps bring
doubting independents and moderates back into
the Democratic fold.

We heard in the SOTU a recognition that put-
ting the priorities of the progressive left over the
center has not been a successful strategy. And we
hope that the speech signals the beginning of a
focused effort to work across the aisle to address
important issues that both parties can support.

While we know that a speech is just a speech,
it appears that voters are already signaling
approval. Historically, presidents do not see a
significant bump in their approval ratings after a
SOTU address. But a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist
survey showed that Biden’s approval rating went
up to 47% after his SOTU address – an 8% jump
from his 39% in February. Although some of the
bump can be explained by Americans coming
together in support of Ukraine, it also demon-
strates that Biden was elected as a moderate
Democrat, and that’s what the American people
want him to be. JE
Letters should be related to articles that have run in the print or
online editions of the JE, and may be edited for space and clarity
prior to publication. Please include your first and last name,
as well your town/neighborhood of residence. Send letters to
letters@jewishexponent.com.




Ukraine War Turned
Empowered, Independent Jewish
Women Into the Displaced
BY KARYN G. GERSHON
T his is not a drill. This is a disaster.

In my 28 years of working with Jews in
Ukraine, Russia and the surrounding region,
I have not seen a humanitarian crisis of this
magnitude, and I have never been so scared
for the women of Ukraine.

The women I saw in Kyiv just two years ago
who were starting businesses, getting their
MBAs, creating art and building cultural and
social institutions are now in a critical state.

Project Kesher, a feminist organization
supported by a range of Jewish groups,
trains women to build Jewish community and
advance civil society in five Eastern European
countries. In the 30-plus years that we have
been working in Ukraine, we have developed
a network of more than 300 trained leaders
engaged in organizing and networking across
23 of the 27 regions of Ukraine. Prior to the
war, we were engaging more than 50 wom-
en’s groups, 15 interfaith coalitions and 1,100
nonprofits and academic, medical and gov-
ernment partners — a testament to the vitality
of Ukraine’s Jewish community.

Within the span of a week this war has
turned empowered and independent women
into the displaced. With most men banned
from leaving the country and being urged to
join the Ukrainian army, it is women who are
carrying the responsibility for care and evac-
uation of children and the elderly.

Before the war, Project Kesher Ukraine vol-
unteers donated nearly 100,000 hours per year
to promote women’s leadership and economic
empowerment, vibrant Jewish life, diversity
and tolerance, and social justice in women’s
rights, women’s health and gender-based vio-
lence. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Project
Kesher was pioneering Jewish life online.

Today, those aspirations for a civil, equita-
ble society seem unfathomably distant. The
same volunteers are identifying the needs
on the ground, like medical supplies and
food, but they are also anticipating the most
basic immediate needs of those standing in
line at the borders, like diapers and formula
for babies, emergency mental health sup-
port and cash to survive until resettlement.

We are working with partners to get med-
ical supplies and food into Ukraine. Russian-
speaking Israeli psychologists are volunteering
to provide pro bono emergency mental health
counseling and support new immigrants
to Israel. The global Project Kesher staff is
responding to requests from desperate and
scared refugees and those who need evacu-
ations, doing their best to make sure that no
women and families fall through the cracks. In
the United States, we are raising funds through
an Emergency Fund for Women in Ukraine,
and telling their stories, and we are praying.

We are all praying for an end to war.

On the morning of March 4, Project Kesher
got a call from a young Ukrainian woman,
an artist from Eastern Ukraine who needed
evacuation with her small son, a child with
physical disabilities. She reported that relief
efforts are overwhelmed, and she could
not evacuate from her home alone. Project
Kesher leaders called from woman to woman
in Ukraine until we found a volunteer to help
this mother physically carry her child to safe
transport and out of danger.

The poverty in Ukraine, before this war,
was already pervasive. COVID-19 remains
a great concern and there has been wide-
spread unemployment in Ukraine and
throughout the region. So when I hear that
women are arriving at the border with chil-
dren and elderly relatives, I know that they
have come this far with nothing except what
might fit in their backpacks.

These women are my friends. They have
hosted me at their homes for meals with a
dozen exquisite salads and visited me with
gifts from their favorite artisans. Now they
are in tears as they make impossible life-
and-death decisions.

A friend I’ll call Inna is a 40-year-old Jewish
professional whose husband was conscripted
to fight for Ukraine while she and her 10-year-
old daughter were under heavy attack in an
eastern city. Finally, on March 4, she made
the difficult decision to evacuate by car, and
she has even made arrangements to take two
additional women, both pregnant, with her and
her daughter. This same woman told me a few
short weeks ago that she wouldn’t evacuate
until there were tanks rolling down her street.

This is where we are. JE
Karyn G. Gershon is the CEO of Project Kesher. She
joined Project Kesher as its executive director in 1994
and was instrumental in growing its Jewish women’s
activist network to more than 180 communities in
Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and Israel.

opinions \ letters
Op-ed About Students Misses Real Issue
I agree with Samuel Abrams (“High School Should Be
Upsetting,” March 3); students must be exposed to a variety
of ideas to learn the critical thinking skills required of citizens
in a democracy. But he fails to address the real problem,
instead blaming “leftist orthodoxy.”
He’s bothered by students deplatforming racists, sexists
and homophobes. But he ignores state legislatures and
school boards engaged in banning books and in ordering
teachers not to teach real history.

A school district in Texas recently told teachers they
needed to teach “opposing perspectives” about the
Holocaust. (Public outcry forced them to recant.) The Florida
House passed a bill that severely limits the way sexuality and
gender can be mentioned in schools. Florida already passed
a law banning the teaching of anything that might make
students feel “discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of
psychological distress.”
Dozens of states have passed or are considering similar
laws. (See tinyurl.com/27jwwmc7 for a list.) It’s only in states
controlled by Republicans that such bills have passed or are
likely to pass. Yet Abrams doesn’t mention this, and instead
blames the left.

The real challenge to critical thinking is this large-scale
censorship, not students rejecting bigots and abusers.

Tamar Granor | Elkins Park
What Were the Sale Details?
The sale of the Exponent makes good sense (”Jewish
Exponent Sold to Mid-Atlantic Media,” March 3). As Andy
Gotlieb pointed out in his article, aside from the financial
benefits to Federation and thus to the Jewish community,
it is wise to remove Federation from the divisive issues of
political orientation and organizational coverage. Federation
should not be judged on these issues.

However, Federation should be judged on its stewardship
of money and assets entrusted to it. I found it surprising,
therefore, that the terms of the transaction with Mid-Atlantic
were “not disclosed.” They should be. If there are compelling
reasons why they are not being disclosed, those reasons
should be disclosed.

Steven Stone | Maple Glen
Endorsement Omitted Key Details
I am saddened to see that you chose to endorse the
nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace retiring
Justice Breyer (“Ketanji Brown Jackson — A Republican
Opportunity,” March 3).

This is a woman who has had an extraordinary number
of her judicial opinions reversed by higher courts. This is a
woman whose LSAT and law school class standings have
been vigorously shielded from the public by her handlers
(presumably — if she had placed high in her class or done
very well on the LSATs — they would have rushed to publi-
cize the fact).

Most egregiously, she was chosen strictly for her gender
and race, so that Biden could pay a debt to his supporters. Is
this really who we want on the court for the next 30 years? JE
David L. Levine | San Francisco
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