Ukraine’s chief rabbi responds to Putin, says he’s ‘proud of his president’

Responding to Vladimir Putin’s remark that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is “a disgrace to the Jewish people,” Ukraine’s Chief Rabbi Moshe Reuven Azman says he’s proud of Zelensky.

“I’m proud of President Volodymyr Zelensky, who stood with his nation at the beginning of the war even though it was a danger to his life, showed extraordinary courage, and continues to defend the Ukrainian people. I, along with all of Ukrainian Jewish society and the entire free world, support President Zelensky,” Azman said.

Natan Sharansky, former Deputy Prime Minister of Israel and member of the board for the Babi Yar memorial site, also expressed support for Zelensky.

“Ukrainians can be proud of electing a Jewish president, who has united the Ukrainian people in a difficult struggle against barbaric aggression. And we Jews can be proud that a representative of our people plays such a unique historical role in mobilizing not only the Ukrainian people, but the entire free world, to protect our future,” Sharansky said.