From Jeffrey Scott Shapiro:
- In recent months, The Federalist ran a disturbing op-ed titled “Volodymyr Zelensky is no Jewish hero,” which suggested the Ukrainian president’s interfaith marriage and Baptized children are contributing to a second Holocaust. The article was written by my former Trump administration colleague Jonathan Bronitsky and Newsweek opinion editor Josh Hammer, who published me in 2021. Like me, they are both Jewish but in writing this column, they have only helped the Kremlin’s cause.
- These dangerous statements assert that despite Zelensky’s bravery in fighting for the survival of Ukraine and the tens of thousands of Jews who live there, he is more of a threat to the survival of the Jewish people because he married and procreated outside his religion. While Bronitsky and Hammer say they oppose giving Hitler posthumous victories, their rationale is rooted in abhorrent purity arguments. Minimizing Zelensky’s Jewish heritage also makes it easier for the Kremlin to reinforce its false narrative that Nazis are running Ukraine.
