UKRAINE: AN AD HOC ISRAEL POLICY -- BALANCING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KYIV 000764

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/29/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV IS UP
SUBJECT: UKRAINE: AN AD HOC ISRAEL POLICY -- BALANCING
ECONOMIC INTERESTS AND HISTORICAL TIES

REF: A. 2006 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT

B. 06 KYIV 4431

C. 06 KYIV 4106

D. 06 KIEV 3694

Classified By: Political Counselor Kent Logsdon for reasons 1.4(b,d)


1. (C) Summary: Israel is home to a half million Ukrainian
immigrants and the two countries had $372 million in
bilateral trade in 2006. Despite Ukraine's remaining Jewish
population and the large diaspora in Israel, Ukraine's
relations with the Jewish State were characterized as "ad
hoc" by several of our interlocutors. Afraid to disrupt its
trade with the Arab world, Ukraine has followed a policy the
Israeli DCM described as within the bounds of the EU but
closer to that of France. Ukraine is still a member on the
UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the
Palestinian People, despite abstaining on the most recent
vote to abolish it and an Israeli request for Ukraine to
withdraw. The January 2007 visit of opposition leader and
former PM Yuliya Tymoshenko to Israel underscores the
importance of the political relationship between Ukraine and
Israel. President Yushchenko's 2006 trip to Israel appears
to have been canceled because of the ongoing controversy over
the anti-Semitic rhetoric disseminated by the Interregional
Academy of Personnel Management (MAUP); however it is
possible that the trip may be rescheduled for the latter half
of 2007. End summary.

Ukrainian Jews' Importance in both Ukraine and Israel,
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2. (U) The tragic history of Ukraine's Jewish population is
an important backdrop to any analysis of relations between
Israel and Ukraine. Ukraine, as part of the Pale of
Settlement, has long had a substantial Jewish population and
is the birthplace of many important developments in Jewish
religious tradition. The grave of one of the founders of the
Hassidic movement, Rebbe Nachman, is located in the Ukrainian
town of Uman and is an important site of pilgrimage (ref D).
At the end of the nineteenth century it is estimated that 43
percent of the over 5 million Jews in the Russian Empire
lived in Ukraine. In addition to restrictions on their place
of residence, Jewish enrollment at higher educational
institutions was regulated by quota and Jews were barred from
owning land in many areas. Ukraine's large and oppressed
Jewish population was a significant source of immigrants to
Palestine (and later Israel),including many who would shape
the destiny of the Jewish State. Former Israeli Prime
Minister Golda Meir was a native of Kyiv who immigrated to
the U.S. as a child before settling in Palestine as a young
adult, while the founder of the Igurn, a precursor to the
Likud Party, Vladimir Jabotinsky, was born in Odesa.


3. (U) Although legal discrimination against Jews was largely
dismantled at the time of the Russian Revolution, and several
early leaders of the Bolshevik regime, including Leon
Trotsky, were Ukrainians of Jewish heritage, Jews faced
continuing discrimination, vestiges of which persist in
Ukrainian society (ref A),and emigration restrictions.
Despite these restrictions and immigration controls imposed
by the British Mandate authorities, thousands of Jews from
Ukraine managed to move to Palestine prior to the Second
World War. After the ravages of the war and the Holocaust,
immigration to Israel waxed and waned during periods of
Soviet repression or thaw. When the last impediments to
emigration were removed in the 1980's, the bulk of Ukraine's
Jewish population departed -- many for Israel. According to
the head of the Association of Jewish Organizations and
Communities in Ukraine, Joseph Zissels, at least 500,000
Israeli citizens were born in Ukraine.


4. (U) Zissels noted that there are 90,000 Ukrainians who
identified themselves as Jewish during the last census in
1989, while approximately 170,000 were born to a Jewish
mother and 370,000 are eligible to immigrate to Israel
because of their heritage. Zissels notes that the Ukrainian
Jewish population is now elderly and dwindling, with the
death rate five times greater than the birth rate. Zissels
estimates that 2,000 Ukrainians immigrate to Israel annually
while 1,300 return, but he anticipates that the population
flow between the two countries will reach equilibrium in 2 or
3 years. Although less than one percent of Ukraine's
population are Jewish, Jews still play a significant role in
Ukrainian society. Five percent of Rada members and several
'oligarchs' are Jewish.

And Significant Trade and Business Ties...
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5. (C) According to the Global Trade Atlas Israel was the
37th largest importer to Ukraine in 2006, sending about $90
million worth of goods and services and was the 35th largest
export destination for Ukraine, receiving about $282 million
worth of goods and services. Israeli Embassy DCM Shahar
Arieli said Israel imports fertilizer and plastic products
from Ukraine, usually on the basis of separate deals. Arieli
noted that there are 15 Israeli companies that operate in
Ukraine, mostly in the communications, IT, and pharmaceutical
sectors, and remarked that several are headed by former
Ukrainians. Zissels opined that several Ukrainians who
immigrated to Israel have returned to pursue business
opportunities as the economy here restructures. Arieli said
plans for cooperation in the defense sector are "stuck"
because the deals require Russian permission, which has not
been forthcoming. Arieli said about one thousand Israelis
live in Ukraine. Both Arieli and MFA Israel Desk Officer
Oleh Lypsky noted that there are ongoing bilateral
negotiations over a free trade agreement.

Are Not Reflected in Ukrainian Policy Towards Israel
-------------- --------------


6. (C) While Arieli speculated that Yuliya Tymoshenko visited
Israel partially due to the presence of the large Ukrainian
diaspora there, he noted the Jewish population in Ukraine and
the diaspora in Israel have not had much influence on
Ukrainian policy towards Israel. This policy was within the
bounds of EU member states, but closer to that of France.
Arieli opined that Ukraine did not have a well thought-out
strategy towards the Middle East. Instead, ties to Israel
conflict with Ukraine's substantial trade with several Arab
states and the potential that the Middle East could be an
alternative supplier of energy resources. Kyiv-based
Institute for Middle East Studies Director Alexander
Bogomolov characterized Ukraine's policy as "ad hoc."
Zissels remarked that most MFA officials are "Soviet school"
and "disposed toward the Arab world."


7. (C) Both Zissels and Arieli cited the presence of Ukraine
on the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights
of the Palestinian People as an example of a misguided policy
and unnecessary source of irritation. Ukraine's presence on
the Committee is a legacy from the Soviet period that,
according to Arieli, gives the body legitimacy. The head of
the MFA's UN Directorate Andriy Beshta told us that Ukraine
had not agreed to an Israeli request to withdraw because it
would not help Israel and complicate Ukraine's relationship
with Arab countries. Despite continuing its presence on the
Committee, Ukraine abstained on the most recent vote to
abolish it (ref C).


8. (U) Bogomolov and Zissels lamented that the political
process in Ukraine does not provide a channel for public
sentiment to be reflected in government policy as it does the
U.S. Zissels is hopeful that Ukrainian policy towards Israel
will change as Ukraine moves closer to the West and noted
that the Jewish Ukrainian oligarchs could theoretically play
a significant role in shaping policy toward Israel, but they
have thus far shown little inclination to do so.

Yushchenko Visit Derailed by MAUP Controversy
--------------


9. (C) Lypsky noted that political consultations occur
semi-annually at the level of Deputy Minister, but last
year's planned visit to Israel by Yushchenko was canceled due
to "objective circumstances." Arieli said that he had read
press reports claiming that the Yushchenko visit was called
off because of fears that Yushchenko would have to face
difficult questions about the anti-Semitic rhetoric
disseminated by MAUP and Ukraine's perceived weak response
(ref C). Arieli commented that he "did not disagree" with
this assessment. Lypsky said that there are plans for
Yushchenko to visit in the latter half of 2007 but it was
unclear if the MAUP controversy would be resolved by then.


10. (U) Visit Embassy Kyiv's classified website:
www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/kiev.
Taylor