Top Leaders to Celebrate Israel-Ukraine Ties, Discuss Global Challenges at Third-Annual Kyiv Jewish Forum

Top global leaders are gathering next week at the third-annual Kyiv Jewish Forum — co-hosted by the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine, the Center for Jewish Impact, and the Combat Antisemitism Movement — to discuss and share their insights on the most pressing issues facing Jewish communities worldwide.

The two-day virtual event — beginning at 3:00 PM Ukraine time (8:00 AM EST) each day on Wednesday, December 15th and Thursday, December 16th — coincides with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of official diplomatic relations between Israel and Ukraine.

The distinguished lineup of speakers includes Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Health Viktor Liashko, and Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrsky, and Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Housing and Construction Ze’ev Elkin, Minister of Diaspora Affairs Nachman Shai, Minister of Immigrant Absorption Pnina Tamano-Shata, Minister of Tourism Yoel Razvozov, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Idan Roll, among other senior leaders and officials from Israel, the United States, and Europe.

The Forum participants will discuss Ukraine’s relations with Israel, the United States, Europe, and global Jewish community, and recommend how to address urgent challenges such as rising antisemitism and the effects of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Last year, 83,000 people participated in the Forum online, including 500 leaders from Ukraine, Israel, the United States, and Europe.

“Jews and Ukrainians are united by more than a thousand-year history, and this history has a lot to teach us about the challenges we face today,” said President of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine Boris Lozhkin. “The increasing cooperation and ties between the Ukraine and Israel are to be celebrated, and together with our partners from around the world, we will discuss how to further increase collaboration and discuss solutions to antisemitism and the Jewish community living under Covid-19.”

Robert Singer, Chairman of the Center for Jewish Impact, said: “As a Ukrainian-born Jew, whose family was among the first families that immigrated from Ukraine to Israel in the 1970s, I am honored to co-organize the Kyiv Jewish Forum together with the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine and the Combat Antisemitism Movement, marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of official diplomatic relations between Israel and Ukraine. I had the pleasure of being among the organizers of the 75th anniversary ceremony of the Babyn Yar massacre. This tragic history is a reminder of how far we have come in all aspects, and I’m sure that our countries will continue to enhance these important relations in the upcoming years.”

For more information and FREE registration, visit: kyivjewishforum.com