Parkes Institute statement on Putin’s war against Ukraine
We, the students and staff of the Parkes Institute for the study of Jewish/non-Jewish relations, are deeply shocked by the Russian state’s invasion of Ukraine. We express our unlimited solidarity and sympathy with all Ukrainians. We condemn the unprovoked aggression of the Russian state against a peaceful, sovereign and democratic Ukraine and watch with despair and indignation the ensuing humanitarian crisis.
As specialists of Jewish/non-Jewish relations we reject Putin’s misuses of history and his legitimation of unjustifiable action by use of the term ‘denazification’. The comparison of Ukrainians to Nazis or fascists is part of a deliberately misleading and propagandist rhetoric that seeks to delegitimize the Ukrainian right to sovereignty and justify barbaric aggression. It is also deeply insulting to Ukraine’s Jewish community, whose forebears suffered so much in the twentieth century.
We stand with Ukrainians in their courageous fight against an aggressive power. We also stand with Belarusians, who, after having bravely opposed Lukashenko's dictatorship for almost two years, are now effectively hostages in a war that the majority of the people oppose. They live on a territory de facto occupied by Russian troops. We also express solidarity with all colleagues and friends in Russia who oppose the war and have lost the freedom to express this.
Please consider making a donation to NGOs such as DEC, UNICEF, the UN Refugee Agency, or The British Red Cross.