The head of the Association of Jewish Communities and Organizations of Ukraine, Vaad Yosyp Zisels, voiced his opinion on the figure of the commander in chief of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, Roman Shukhevych.
“Most of those who have a positive attitude to Shukhevych and other ambiguous figures of our common history associate Shukhevych with the struggle against communism and the Soviet empire, with another attempt to gain independence for Ukraine – with worthy and positive goals. Many Jews associate the name of Shukhevych primarily with the death of their relatives during the Holocaust. I do not think there are many Ukrainians who respect Shukhevych for actual or imaginary crimes against Jews and Poles,” Yosyp Ziselc said in his interview to the Weekly Mirror.
He also stressed that his addresses to Israeli historians with a request to pass him documents regarding the activity of Roman Shukhevych in 1941 when he allegedly was involved in anti-Jewish actions in Lviv remain unanswered.
Yosyp Zisels notes that if the participation of Roman Shukhevych in the Jewish pogroms is not documentarily proven, the statements about his “crimes” will be absolutely groundless.
He also called Ukrainians and Jews to give up the accusations and focus on developing new, harmonious relations. “If we, the Jews, continue to count how many Ukrainians collaborated with the Nazis and the Ukrainians continue to count how many Jews served in NK, GPU, NKVD, and KGB, we will forever stay in historical impasse where conflicts could easily erupt,” noted Yosyp Zisels.