The head of Chernihiv's Jewish community blamed Russia for the incident with the fallen menorah

In Chernihiv, an incident involving a fallen hanukiah caused a wide public outcry. The head of the Jewish community of Chernihiv, Alexander Chevan, commented on this event, expressing confidence that it was not random hooliganism. In his opinion, the action is planned and has a political background, behind which may be “curators from Russia”, seeking to incite anti-Semitism in Ukraine and destabilize the situation.

Alexander Chevan, in a comment to Ukrainian Radio Chernihiv, said that he was “more than convinced that this action was not some kind of spontaneous hooliganism”. He emphasized that in many Ukrainian cities, including frontline Sumy, Hanukkah menorahs are lit peacefully in central squares with the participation of administrations, and similar acts of vandalism have not been seen before.

“Those who want to find an excuse to spout their anti-Semitism or whatever, they will always find it,” Chevan noted, adding that “we understand perfectly well who benefits from the fact that news outlets will now be reporting that there is anti-Semitism in Ukraine.” He directly linked the incident to the possible involvement of “curators from Russia,” saying that this event has “an absolutely political plane.”

The head of the community drew a parallel with other acts of destabilization, such as the arson attacks on TCCs (territorial recruitment centers) and military vehicles. He suggested that the Russians could have been hired via Telegram for some money to “just bring down Hanukkiah,” thereby spreading the message they wanted.

Alexander Chevan also noted that the Jewish community did not organize any mass events during the installation of the Hanukkiah in Chernihiv, which could be interpreted as a provocation. “Only the representative of the Jewish religious community himself, in fact, lit the lights, and that’s all. The community did not even gather,” he clarified, emphasizing the absence of any grounds for accusations of security breach or provocation.

Chevan concluded his commentary by raising the important issue of equality of civil duties and freedoms. He pointed out that during mobilization in Ukraine they do not ask about ethnicity, but only about citizenship. “A citizen of Ukraine fulfills his constitutional duties and defends his state, of which we are citizens,” Chevan said, adding, “And if in terms of constitutional duties we have everyone equal, then let us also have some equality in the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution (in particular, the right of religious freedom – ed.).”

We shall remind you that earlier we reported that a man was detained in Kiev, who in Maidan Nezalezhnosti made a small urination on the Hanukkiah, set up as a sign of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.