Kyiv, October 7, 2014. Ukraine needs information and material support, and Israelis should not stay silent. This was said at Ukraine Crisis Media Center by Victor Vertsner, founder of “Israel Supports Ukraine” (ISU) and co-founder of the NGO “Israel Friends of Ukraine” (IFU) during the press briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center.
Victor Vertsner said that his group had 5,000 members who were helping Ukrainian army by delivering medicine to Ukraine, warm clothes, and organizing the treatment of wounded soldiers in Israeli hospitals. Earlier, ISU was able to provide treatment to 12 wounded Maidan activists. “It is important that Ukrainians know that there are those who support them in every corner of the world,” said Vertsner.
Commenting on the attitude of the Israeli authorities and people of Israel to the events in Ukraine, the activist admitted that the government was taking a neutral stance. In Israel, there are more than 500.000 people from Ukraine, and a little less from Russia. However, the pro-Ukrainian Peace March in Tel Aviv gathered 500 supporters, while the pro-Russian counter protest drew only 15 people. Vertsner noted that he attempted to engage in a dialogue with Ukraine’s opponents in Israel, but it was too difficult.
Vertsner believes that it is possible to draw certain analogies between events in the Donbas and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to him, Palestinian terrorists regularly fire from behind civilians and shell civilian areas and hospitals, similar to the tactics used by the pro-Russian fighters. As a result, Israeli doctors have significant experience in the field of military medicine, including treatment of gunshot wounds, neurosurgery, and prosthetics. “One of our goals is to explain to native Israelis what is happening in eastern Ukraine,” stated Vertsner in conclusion.