editorials
W e learn from the Purim story
that leadership can be thrust
upon an individual in unanticipated
ways. In Ukraine, we see that theme
playing out in real-time.

When Ukrainians elected for-
mer comedian and entertainer
Volodymyr Zelensky as their presi-
dent in 2019, we joined in welcoming
him, even as we recognized his lack
of government or leadership experi-
ence. There was also an element of
pride in our embrace — Zelensky is
Jewish, even if that was not a defin-
ing aspect of his life before his entry
into politics. And we wondered how
Zelensky, who played the president
of Ukraine for laughs on TV, would
redeem himself now that he was
elected president for real.

Following Vladimir Putin’s Russia
invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, it didn’t
take long to see that Zelensky is a
serious player, focused on leading and
defending his people. Thus, when the
Biden administration offered to help
Zelensky escape Kyiv to save himself
from anticipated targeted assassina-
tion, he is reported to have famously
responded: “The fight is here; I need
ammunition, not a ride.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets foreign journalists in Kyiv, Ukraine, on
March 3, 2022.

What Zelensky also didn’t need
was help figuring out how to use his
bully pulpit. He knew exactly what
to do. And on that stage, his perfor-
mance has been extraordinary and
inspiring. Zelensky artfully worked to
calm a terrorized nation by exuding
calm, seriousness, hope, resolve and
defiance. With the unshaved face of
an everyman and the worn camou-
flage T-shirt of a fighter, the comedian
cum politician was transformed. The
communicator found his ultimate role.

Early on, Zelensky told European
leaders that he was Russia’s No. 1
target — and that they might not see
him again alive. In short order, he
personalized a country of 44 million
people into one vulnerable man.

And in the process, he put Putin
on notice that the whole world was
watching his every move.

Zelensky also spoke to and for his
nation — with emotional yet forceful
reassurance — helping to rally confi-
dence and determination in the face
of overwhelming force and odds.

And if Zelensky’s Jewishness was a
prop before the war, it has become
the key to a whole new audience
as he pursued increased support in
Israel and in the Diaspora with the
recurring theme that “Nazism is born
in silence.”
The world has taken note. As
observed by Franklin Foer in The
Atlantic: “It is hard to think of another
recent instance in which one human
being has defied the collective expec-
tations for his behavior and provided
such an inspiring moment of service to
the people, clarifying the terms of the
conflict through his example.”
Zelensky has demonstrated
impressive skill as a public personal-
ity and leader. He shows confidence
in his people and declares his place
with them. He doesn’t hide, yet he
doesn’t pretend that he is either safe
or secure. He projects the persona,
not of an elite, but of a common
man. And he has become the voice
and the face of a victimized peo-
ple. Zelensky is Ukraine. Zelensky
is Jewish. He seems to be drawing
courage, strength and purpose from
both. JE
Uncertainty in the Iran Deal
I ran nuclear talks in Vienna have
once again hit a roadblock. This
time, they were derailed by Russia’s
demand for sanctions relief in
commercial dealings with Iran. All
the while, Iran continues to develop
its nuclear program, setting Israel
and Arab countries on edge. Then,
this past weekend, Iran sent ballistic
missiles into Iraq, striking near a U.S.

Consulate compound, highlighting
the urgency of figuring out some way
to deal with the dangerous Islamic
regime. The situation is complex and is
made even more so by the lack
of transparency regarding the new
terms being considered regard-
ing possible U.S. re-entry into the
deal. In 2015, the permanent mem-
ber countries of the United Nations
Security Council — United States,
United Kingdom, France, Russia
16 and China — plus Germany and the
European Union, signed the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action with
Iran. As part of that deal, Iran agreed
to various measures designed to
curtail the development of its nuclear
program and for inspections from the
International Atomic Energy Agency
to ensure compliance. In exchange,
Iran received some sanctions relief.

But the deal faced significant crit-
icism, with challengers arguing first
that Iran could not be trusted to
comply with its performance prom-
ises and that, in any event, parts of
the deal would eventually expire,
and second because JCPOA didn’t
address Iran’s ballistic missile pro-
gram or its funding of terrorist activ-
ities. In 2018, President Donald
Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal.

Since then, JCPOA has effectively
collapsed. MARCH 17, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
President Joe Biden made joining
an improved version of the deal
one of his campaign promises.

And for the past year, negotiators
have been involved in slow-moving
talks in Vienna seeking to achieve
that result. Before this latest delay
involving Russia, the agreement
was reportedly approaching its final
stages. But serious questions about
the new terms have been raised.

Rumors of significant financial con-
cessions to Iran, wholesale lifting
of terror designations for the Iran
Revolutionary Guard and many of its
individual leaders and limited restric-
tions on Iran’s nuclear development
activity have emerged, casting a
large cloud over public reaction to
reports of a pending agreement.

Since there has been no public dis-
closure of potential re-entry terms,
no one knows for sure.

It’s also unclear whether Congress
will have a say in approving the new
terms. Some argue that if this is an
expanded or new deal, Congress
should review it. Others assert that
if the U.S. is “simply” reentering the
previous deal, Congress has already
had its say. Those issues are prob-
ably what prompted a bipartisan
group of 21 Congress members to
send a letter to Biden last week,
expressing concern about reports
of U.S. concessions in the current
negotiation process.

JCPOA is not a deal that should
be built on rumors and whispers.

Any proposed new terms should be
made public, and Congress should
weigh in on the agreement and its
terms. If Congress approves the
deal, so be it. But moving ahead
without congressional input would
be a mistake. JE
EyePress/Newscom Zelensky’s Inspiring Leadership



opinions \ letters
Article Didn’t Present Enough Evidence of Racism
Evil Doesn’t Always Wear
a Triangle-Shaped Hat
BY RABBI JASON BONDER
M any of us know exactly what to
do when we see a man wearing a
triangle-shaped hat — especially if we see
that man in our synagogue plays on the
holiday of Purim.

We boo and hiss and shake our noise-
makers when we hear his name read aloud
from the Megillah. Haman is that wicked
man whose name we are commanded to
drown out.

Fewer of us, I suspect, know that not once
in the entire book of Esther is it mentioned
that Haman ever wore a hat that has three
corners. So, what’s the hat all about? I think
I discovered the meaning of the hat all
over again this past Shabbat thanks to this
moment of history in which we live.

This month, at our family Shabbat ser-
vices, I wanted to find a story with connec-
tions to Ukraine. Thankfully, I came across a
story called “Haman and Mordecai: A True
Story in Honor of Purim” written by Solomon
Naumovich Rabinovich, born just outside
of Kyiv, and better known by his pen name,
Sholem Aleichem.

Aleichem set his Purim-themed story “in
one of the Jewish cities of our old home,”
and it begins with the arrival of Haman and
Mordecai in that unnamed city. The bibli-
cal duo arrive in town centuries after the
Purim story was first penned. Haman, who
Aleichem describes as a “rich magnate,
with an angry, severe glare,” is wearing his
triangular hat.

Despite the iconic head covering, the
Jews in this fictional town do not recog-
nize Haman. They ask Mordecai about the
rich magnate, and Mordecai explains in no
uncertain terms who they are. He mentions
that they are from Persia and Media, from
the Fortress Shushan.

Yet each character with whom Mordecai
speaks isn’t quite sure what to do. Perhaps
in disbelief, perhaps in confusion, none
of the town’s Jews are spurred to action
despite the villain’s presence. They fail
to take immediate steps toward ridding
their town of this known villain. Purim, and
Aleichem’s story, come to teach us that we
cannot react in this way to the presence
of evil. It is incumbent upon us to spot
wickedness quickly and then do something
in response.

This coming week, we will teach our
children to get loud in all kinds of ways at
the mention of Haman’s name. Haman’s tri-
angular hat will likely make its appearance
in Purim spiels across the world. But we
aren’t booing that hat. The triangle hat is a
teaching tool to communicate something far
more important and our whimsical tradition
of booing Haman is much more serious than
it appears.

When we take our children to hear the
Megillah, we are teaching them to build a
world in which good people stand up to bul-
lies wherever and whenever they see one.

We are instructing the next generation that
when we spot wickedness in our midst, we
push decorum aside and we get loud until
the evil plot is thwarted.

God willing, we will raise a generation of
people who have even just an ounce of the
courage it took for the Ukrainian soldiers
on Snake Island to stare down a Russian
warship and defiantly say, “Go f*** yourself!”
It is not enough to put this on the shoul-
ders of the next generation. We, the adults
in the room, need to heed our own advice.

Over these past two weeks, we have
watched a villainous plot unfurl. It is as if
this moment in history is testing the Jewish
people by asking, “Do you still need that
triangular teaching tool from your childhood
to spot evil?”
Vladimir Putin shouldn’t have to wear a hat
that has three corners for us to recognize his
wickedness. His brutal and unjust aggres-
sion should be enough to spur us to action.

Those of us who grew up attending
Purim services have been training for this
our whole lives. It’s time to stand up and
make noise until this modern-day Haman is
stopped. A good place to start is by booing
Haman with the kind of passion and cour-
age displayed by those soldiers on Snake
Island. But don’t stop there. Donate, write on
social media, encourage others to do the
same. May our celebration of Purim this
year, and every year, be a reminder to us
that not all villains wear triangular hats. JE
Jason Bonder is the associate rabbi at Congregation
Beth Or in Maple Glen.

Emet is a strong Jewish value, as is refraining from lashon
hara. With this in mind, I would like to respond to your arti-
cle of Feb. 24, “Black Jew Denied Israeli Citizenship Twice,”
whose headline implied that this was a decision motivated
by race.

There is no doubting the real pain and frustration that
Jared Armstrong feels. He was raised as a Jew and still spent
nine months converting to meet what he thought were the
objections of Israeli authorities to becoming a citizen, only to
be denied again. I cannot speak to whether this decision was
correct, not knowing all the facts. But neither can anyone
else who does not know all the facts say with certainty that
this decision was because of racism.

What do we know? We know that Israel rescued thousands
of black Ethiopian Jews at great risk and expense. We also
know that white individuals wishing to become citizens are
turned down because their conversions are not regarded
as valid by the Israeli authorities. Finally, we know that in
March 2019, Amare Stoudemire, a black American basketball
player who underwent an Orthodox conversion in Israel, was
granted Israeli citizenship.

These facts alone are enough to raise questions about any
assertion that denial of citizenship to Armstrong is caused
by racism. We also know that standards for conversion are
different in Israel than they are in the United States. It is quite
possible that this is the reason Armstrong’s application was
turned down.

Because racial discrimination is wicked, a charge of racism
is ugly and should be supported by stronger evidence than
was presented in this article.

Rabbi Yonah Gross | Congregation Beth Hamedrosh, Wynnewood
Writer Drank Republican Kool-Aid
It is evident from David Levine’s letter (“Endorsement Omitted
Key Details,” March 17) that he has been drinking too much
Republican Kool-Aid.

Levine implies that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is unqual-
ified because her “handlers” refuse to address such issues
as LSAT scores and class standing. He also opines that
Biden only nominated her to fulfill a “debt” to his supporters.

First of all, Jackson was endorsed by many legal scholars
of both political persuasions, and both white and minority
attorneys. I don’t remember anyone asking for LSAT scores
and class ranking of any of Trump’s three appointments
to the Supreme Court. In fact, Republican members of
Congress tried to whitewash Brett Kavanaugh’s alleged alco-
holism and sexual harassment charges — charges that would
have disqualified most candidates.

As far as fulfilling a debt, one of Trump’s major campaign
promises in 2016 was to appoint conservative judges to the
court to overturn Roe v Wade. Trump’s appointments were
selected by the conservative Federalist Society, and he dare
not go against any of their recommendations. JE
Jeff Ettinger | Huntingdon Valley
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.

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