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The air raid sirens are wailing. The shelters are full. Women and children are fleeing to escape the horrors of invasion and war. Men, once working and studying, are now picking up arms to defend a free country.
Kiev is under siege. Lvov has been attacked. Reb Nachman’s Tomb in Uman is in danger of being flattened by tanks. A crisis of global proportions has been created by one man who seeks to crush an independent country, while trying to crush the human spirit.
Jews have no special love for Ukraine. Its horrors toward our people over the centuries is well documented and well remembered. But even as those sad memories fade, new hopes blossom. A hope that Klal Yisroel can live in peace again, in Ukraine and throughout the world. Today, at least 50,000 people identify as Jews there, and perhaps another 200,000 are hidden Jews or distantly related. But not only those 50,000 are under assault now from that one man, but the entire nation of over 40 million is in harm’s way, not to mention the rest of the world.
This one man is of course ex-KGB agent in former communist East Germany, Vladimir Putin, the current dictator and erstwhile new Tsar of Russia. No wars have been seen in Europe since the breakup of communist Yugoslavia, which was precipitated by the final breakup of Putin’s beloved Soviet Union. Wars which cost over 140,000 lives and brought back the specter of genocide, ethnic cleansing, war rape and European refugees to our doorsteps.
Putin has gone so far as to threaten neutral Finland and Sweden, and rattle his nuclear bomb sabre against the West. The current invasion and war on Ukraine by Putin is not an existential question or Talmudic intellectual exercise, because it gets down to some simple questions of reality. It has been well noted that many in the Charedi community have supported Donald Trump, and that is their right. And Mr. Trump’s open support of Putin has also been noted, during his two campaigns, during his presidency and even now, during the vicious invasion. Mr. Trump has called Putin “a genius”, and “smart, so smart” for his ruthless tactics and strategy against Ukraine, America and the West. So the simple question is: why are Charedi Trump followers supporting Trump and his overt backing of Putin even during this bloodthirsty invasion?
The murderous, unprovoked attack has already resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths and has created over 500,000 refugees and displaced people, mostly women and kids. So the next reality-based question is: why, if life under tyrant Putin would be so good, that the entire Charedi Klal is fleeing to Poland and elsewhere? It’s not just to evade the war. Everyone has seen what has happened to other places that Russia attacks: Afghanistan, Georgia, Chechnya, Syria. Life after a Russian war is despairing, hollow and desolate, just as many experience life in Putin’s dictatorship at home in Russia.
So, as millions try desperately to escape the Stalinist fury of Putin’s aggression, the final question comes to mind. You may have seen the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of America’s statement in support of Jews in Ukraine. They are asking Klal Yisrael to say extra Tehillim. In addition, they are asking the public to donate to the Agudah’s relief fund for Ukrainian Jews.
An excerpt from the statement, shown on VIN said: “There are hundreds of thousands of Jews in Ukraine (among them, many Orthodox Jews), who are in peril as a result of the Russian invasion into Ukraine. They face the dangers of war, as well as the danger of increasing antisemitism….The Jewish Nation is one organism; when one limb of a body hurts, the whole body is in pain…”
The question is: if Jews are one limb, and Ukrainians another, and each a part of Humanity as one organism, as understood from Torah, when those limbs hurt, and the whole body is in pain, mustn’t we care about all Humanity? Especially during this horrific war caused by Putin, and backed by Trump.
-Chayim H.
The views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect those of VIN News.
The reason you can’t see why “Jews support Trump” is because like most on the Left, you can’t help but focus on a singular word or catch-phrase….the rest of us realize what Trump was saying and doing when publicity “praising” Putin. But as someone with severe TDS, it went right over you’re head and has caused you anger and panic. Are you enjoying Sleepy Joe who said Putin would never take him on? How’s that working out for you?
Why does VIN allow the silly ramblings of a naive, superficial fool who believes everything that is fed to him by the media?
Trump never praised Putin. He just said, Putin is smart, and he is. He’s outsmarting the liberal Democrats. You’re twisting the facts, like all Democrats pushing and anti Trump narrative. What about Biden? He’s done NOTHING!!!!!
Obviously , you don’t understand . Trump rightfully called Putin a genius in how he played the West. Trump is pointing out the stupidity and low IQ of Western leaders. It was Trump who put sanctions on Russia , blasted Germany for its oil pipeline to Russia and bombed chemical facilities in Syria warning Putin to stay away . What the heck are you babbling about ?*
You have your facts wrong. Putin was backed by BIDEN. It was Trump that put sanctions on the Nord Stream Pipeline. Biden removed them. Trump got the US to be a net exporter of energy. Biden got us to be a net importer and is currently paying Russia a fortune for his oil. And let’s not forget how the wife of the mayor of Moscow gave Hunter Biden “a gift” of $3.5 million, presumably to buy influence within the Biden family. And why hasn’t Biden sanctioned the one thing that matters to Russia, namely, oil (which is sanction exempt)?
You sound like a typical democrat. When everything they do fails (like horrendous inflation, crime and Afghanistan) do they apologize? Of course not! They blame Trump. Just like you are doing right now. Wake up.
Mr. Chayim H., what you’ve just written is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever read. At no point in your rambling, incoherent letter were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone on this site is now dumber for having read it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul
I can’t believe VIN thought this “opinion piece” is coherent enough to publish. We all know Trump is an expressively styled speaker, and his comments the writer refers to are, in their context, just part of his style of speech (and unfortunately part of his not-so-desirable rhetoric, I concede), not a statement of “praise” of Putin. Especially in terms of his expansion of those remarks in his CPAC speech, where he clearly explained that he was contrasting Putin’s actions with those of his adversaries (ie the rest of the world leaders), showing how their behaviors and actions in the lead up to this crisis invited Putin’s aggression, so he was “smart” and they were “dumb”. Not Putin praise at all.
Aside, of course, from the facts on the ground during Trump’s presidency, where he did things (not just said things) which deterred Putin’s desire for aggression (killed Russian mercenaries in Syria, killed terrorists supported by Russia, flooded the world with price-crashing oil and gas to Russia’s economic detriment… need I go on?), which make it obvious that the opinions of the writer of this letter are trivial and foolish…
Thank you VIN for the opportunity to clarify.
Unlike Putin, Chayim H is NOT smart. Because this is what Trump said:
“Russia’s attack on Ukraine is appalling. It’s an outrage, and an atrocity that should never have been allowed to occur. We are praying for the proud people of Ukraine. God bless them all.”
And that’s why we support trump. Because trump would have prevented this from happening. And the fact that he said Putin is smart is exactly that. Putin is smart. Being smart and being terribly wrong is NOT a contradiction
Putin started the war under Biden’s administration. Not under Trump’s.
How can Jews support Biden whose weakness and shutting off energy independence thanks to Trump , has empowered Putin ??
Never saw such a stupid letter. He never praised him. All he said was he’s smart
Trump can do and say whatever the hell he wants. he is always right, we have been brainwashed, we are zombies now. Putin is great, we should cheer him on, Biden is weak and we should hammer hit at every turn, this is good for America! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
Biden and the democRATS are evil no matter what they do, they just are, Tucker Carlson said so. they want to DESTROY America. (sure that makes sense 50% of America wanting to destroy it)
Our friends are dictators like “Genius Smart Putin” and his ilk, our real enemies are Schumer and Pelosi and Biden
what happened to us Jews, we used to be the smartest people. how did we allow ourselves to be brainwashed like this,
The Democrats you seem to worship openly support hamas terrorists and other Jew hating scum, the decrepit brainmush who occupies the White House is busy trying to sell Israel down the river to the Iranian terror regime and is still seeking to work with Putin on that and climate change idiocy, calling someone smart, genius and savvy doesn’t mean you support what he is doing, it just means you can see reality, Putin waited until the weak brainmush was president and showed his weakness in his runaway from Afghanistan while abandoning thousands of Americans and green card holders to the Taliban, remember he took Crimea in 2014 after obama promised him flexibility, and all obama/biden admin did was sanction a bit. The democarts fully support the pali terrorists regime run by noted holocaust denier Abbas and want to force Israel to give in to all the terrorists demands. The only Jew haters in Congress right now are Democrats who are fully supported by the rest of their party.
Please stop deflecting Biden’s fault in all this. You are trying to paint trump as the Russian dictator just so people don’t realize that it was Biden’s lack of being on his senses what promoted Putin to do what he is doing. This would have simply not happened under Trump. Yes, he often países his evening to make them feel as equals and to bring them to the table to negotiate. Something Biden is incapable of doing. You are a Biden apologist.
Trump doesn’t like Putin, he never said Putin is a good person. If you ask him he would say Putin is ruthless dictator.
It’s just the way Trump speaks.
He thinks Putin is smart and “so smart” and “genius”.
Typical Trump exaggeration.
I make up that the writer of this letter was always anti Trump, that would be the only was to see his point as logical.
Oh, come on. Trump does NOT support Russia in any way, shape, or form. Clearly, you have not seen the clip of Trump speaking to the head of NATO about how absurd it is that the US is funding the German military to defend against Russia, while the Germans are buying oil from them!
You, like all other Trump-haters, are taking his words out of context. He was bemoaning the current situation- that Russia is being led by a genius EVIL communist dictator, and the US is being led by a stupid corpse of a man. That is precisely WHY we need to support Trump. During the four years that Trump was in office, Putin didn’t make a move because the US had strong leadership.
Do you seriously believe that Dumb Joe Biden is a better and smarter leader for this country than Trump was? If you do, there is a bridge in Brooklyn for sale.
Trump if he praised Putin did it before he invaded Ukraine. I seriously doubt if we can hold it against Trump; he is not with ruach haKodesh…..
Click bait
First of all Trump never praised Putin at all what he said was that Putin is smart but in a bad way I don’t know why vin news would put this out
Fake news and dumb article !!!
Chaim H. – you are a disappointment to your community. Trump was the best thing that happened to us prior to Mr. Potato Head at 1600. You sound like a puppet for the left, telling Jews to get on the Democratic boat. Sorry – that ship is sinking fast. You should start swimming – or at least get a life preserver and some shark repellent. I’m a registered Demo, by the way. But my values and the party’s values are at opposite ends of the poles.
You’re a liar and part of the fake news media. Did you hear or read the context of the genius comment Trump made? Obviously not. It was in the context of explaining why Putin made the two states in Eastern Ukraine independent now and it wouldn’t have happened under his watch. This was the genius Trump was referring to – That Putin waited until now to do it. But who cares about facts when you can bash Mr. Trump. If you care to read it here’s a transcript from the Gaurdian.
Donald Trump has said that Vladimir Putin is “very savvy” and made a “genius” move by declaring two regions of eastern Ukraine as independent states and moving Russian armed forces to them.
Trump said he saw the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis on TV “and I said: ‘This is genius.’ Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine … Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful.”
The former US president said that the Russian president had made a “smart move” by sending “the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen” to the area.
Trump, a long-term admirer of Putin who was impeached over allegations he threatened to withhold aid to Ukraine unless it could help damage the reputation of Joe Biden, praised the Russian president’s moves while also claiming that they would not have happened if he was still president.
“Here’s a guy who’s very savvy … I know him very well,” Trump said of Putin while talking to the The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show. “Very, very well. By the way, this never would have happened with us. Had I been in office, not even thinkable. This would never have happened
Trump was right when he stated Jews don’t love Israel. So right. Real Orthodox Jews will support Trump again when he runs. The reform and secular x Jews will oppose him. Why are you liberals supporting the tearing down of statues of American leaders of old and yet say nothing about the statue in Ukraine of the evil tyrant who murdered 300 thousand Jews. Yes Three hundred thousand Jews. And what these Ukrainians did to our women and children and butchered them in a most horrific way. Don’t give me crocodile tears. Putin allows Israel to bomb weapons Iran places in Syria. I care about my six million brothers and sisters in Israel. If not for Putin the Iranians could move nuclear warheads into Syria and be close up to Israel. As far as Rabbi Nachmans kever, Putin has no problem letting Breslevers visit on Rosh hashana. He has a good relations with Russia’s chief Rabbi Lazar. We Jews owe Trump a gratitude for freeing shalom Rubashkin. We owe him for being there for the orthodox Jewish community. Never forget.
The situation is definitely tragic. However, it is not as one-sided as you make it. Russia had some legitimate grievances leading up to this conflict. It does not want certain things on its border, such as toeivah legitimization and other foreign imports Ukraine has started accepting under Western influence, which Russia resists.
May Almighty G-d bestow peace upon us speedily.
George W. Bush was a far greater murderer, yet I don’t recall such letters being published…
What ???? It was Trump who supplied Ukraine with all types of weapons.. You watch CNN MSNBC CBS who never report this.
Thank you VIN for publishing my Letter to the Editor questioning Trump’s unqualified support of Putin and his unprovoked, murderous invasion of the free state of Ukraine. I am not a member of the ‘left’ or any media. I am not usually a supporter of the Democrats. I have, however the same observation and opinion of this evil partnership as many Jews, Charedi, secular or other, and especially those thousands of Yidden fleeing from Ukraine today. It is noteworthy that even neutral Switzerland has implemented the tough EU Sanctions vs Russia and vs Putin himself. Switzerland! Not to mention 100 other countries and thousands of NGOs and millions who have demonstrated IN RUSSIA and around the world. And regarding Trump: I dare you to Google “Trump Praises Putin” and see how even Fox News has posted his disgusting statements backing this bloodthirsty monster.
They can’t.
He is also the only leading Republican to remain silent on MTG.
Frum Yidden must reject this man and all the vile and repulsive things that he stands for.
And you’re still believing the Russian collusion lie. And why are you defending the murderous Ukrainiano collaborators in WWIi ?
TDS much?
CORRECT. The absolute adoration some in our community have for Trump is sickening.
Also Trump supporters have an IV drip of fox news and now newsmax so can’t blame them, they just don’t know the facts. Russian state tv telling their citizens how soldiers are saving children from ukraine. Bringing toys.
Putin is NOT attacking jews its collateral damage the Ukrainians entire history is just killing jews through barbaric means to inflict maximum torture
Huh ? You can’t be an evil genius?
You said trump called him so smart. That’s true. Why does that mean Putin is a good person? Yes he is or at least was so smart till this attack. Smart people can’t be evil? Like what’s your point? You mean bec we are taught that achshvarosh was a melech tipush therefore that’s always the case? Did Trump ever say the man is his role model? I really don’t get you.
Furthermore, this was all before he became so ruthless openly. He was and still is good to jews. As a frum Jew I did like Putin till now. Now I don’t like him. Facts on the ground can change all the time. But this is a side point
Hut Er Ge’zagt. we have more immediate problems in our backyard.
Google “Trump praises Putin”. Are you afraid of the Emes?
You said trump called him so smart. That’s true. Why does that mean Putin is a good person? Yes he is or at least was so smart till this attack. Smart people can’t be evil? Like what’s your point? You mean bec we are taught that achshvarosh was a melech tipush therefore that’s always the case? Did Trump ever say the man is his role model? I really don’t get you.
Furthermore, this was all before he became so ruthless openly. He was and still is good to jews. As a frum Jew I did like Putin till now. Now I don’t like him. Facts on the ground can change all the time. But this is a side point
Trump is not supporting the bloodshed, just the way Putin prepared for this war and that he thinks is ingenious. That is obvious. The Jews don’t have many friends let’s not alienate those that are. His Jewish grand children are no accident it’s a way for HASHEM to prepare a shliach for our benefit. Looking ahead to מלחמת גוג ומגוג I see that both Russia and China spelled רשע and סן have the gematria of 12 each which is equal to the numerical value of גוג. And the word מגוג equals 16 which is the gematria of משיח in מספר קטן. The way things are shaping up it seems Russia and China will unite against the world and moshiach will come to save us. Just a theory.
Nice letter. Well written. Literary quality fine. Yes, Putin is doing a horrible thing. He has no business making war, trying to take a sovereign country that is not his, just because he wants. He’s a terrible man. Go ahead and wish him the worst.
Where do you get the gall to claim that Trump supports the war and killing? Are you just drinking the koolaid of the Democrats? The ones who commit more murder than Putin? The ones that crush police, reward crime, fabricate crime to impeach, that impose stupidity like wokeism and gender confusion, that tax us to death while destroying out economy, that punish the population with leaders whose incompetence is beyond extreme, that open our borders brazenly to flood our land with thugs and drugs, that trash our Constitution, that toil tirelessly to make America into the new Sdom?
Pelosi has uttered words of praise for heinous criminals. Same for comatose Joe. How do you dare to shamelessly claim that Trump supports war and killing? Your position is graceful in writing quality. But it’s disgraceful in terms of your values.
Putin has a right not to have Nato arms on his border. Russia gave Ukraine their independence, and now in return they want to stab Russia in the back, by joining NATO. Just like America did not particularly like when Cuba put missals aimed at us, so doesn’t Putin enjoy looking at missals in Ukraine.
NATO and America thinks they can dictate to everyone else, saying, hey we are stronger, what can you do about it – Well here is Putin doing something about it. At the end he will get his guarantee that they wont join Nato and if he is lucky he will be able to put in his own government.
Once Putin gets his guarantee the west will have egg on their face, and learn a tough lesson…… if someone has nuclear capabilities don’t dictate to them when they have a legitimate right or concern