By Erica Sultan Research Fellow Rabbi Arthur Schneier Program for International Affairs

Dr. Ronnie Perelis moderates the panel discussion on the war in Ukraine.

On Monday, Feb. 28. 2022, Yeshiva University students, faculty and staff, and the wider YU community joined a roundtable discussion by historians and political scientists to discuss the horrifying current events taking place in Europe. The panel was sponsored by the Rabbi Arthur Schneier Program for International Affairs, Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies and Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, along with student-run clubs: Yeshiva University Political Action Club, Dunner Politcal Science Society, Yeshiva University College Democrats and Yeshiva University College Republicans. The expert panel included Dr. Joshua Karlip (associate professor of Jewish history, the Herbert S. and Naomi Denenberg Associate Professor of Jewish History and associate director of the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies), Dr. Jess Olson (associate professor of Jewish history), Dr. Shay Pilnik (director, Fish Center), Dina Shvetsov (adjunct professor in the Political Science Department), Dr. Maria Zaitseva (clinical assistant professor in the Political Science Department), and Dr. Joshua Zimmerman (Eli and Diana Zborowski Professional Chair in Holocaust Studies and Eastern European Jewish History). Together, they shared their views on the crisis occurring in Ukraine and then answered audience questions. The panel was introduced by Dr. Ronnie Perelis (Chief Rabbi Dr. Isaac Abraham and Jelena (Rachel) Alcalay Chair, associate professor of Sephardic Studies at Bernard Revel Graduate and director of the Schneier Program) , and opening remarks were made by Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, President of Yeshiva University. Dr. Berman solemnly stated, “War is a learned action… What made this past period, from World War II to today, so different is that there was a time when we didn’t see this … a war of attack, sovereign state against sovereign state, in Europe. We thought that the learned act was rooted out. And what makes this event so fearful is that it cripples our sense of stability. … One of the things we’re so concerned about is what does this trigger?” Dr. Perelis added that “Ukraine raises existential questions for all of us and that is why it was important to come together. During times of crisis and confusion, the University must create a space of insight, understanding and dialogue.” With these thoughts looming in the minds of the more than 280 people in the Zoom audience, the panelists spent the next hour and a half sharing insights, context and predictions. For instance, several wanted to know what this war meant for other nations with revanchist goals, such as China’s desire to annex Taiwan. Prof. Shvetsov gave a grave answer: “If Russia takes Ukraine, what this will mean for China is an absolute win… China gets to fully exploit the political precedence that Russia is setting.” The event concluded with remarks by the renowned Rabbi Arthur Schneier: “We have a humanitarian crisis [and] our most critical ambition has to be a ceasefire [and] whatever we can do on the humanitarian basis to be bridge builders is in our self interest. This is why we have the idea in Judaism, kol yisrael arevim zeh lazeh, all of us are dependent on one another.”