Image by Courtesy

The top State Department official on antisemitism told American Jewish leaders Wednesday that he is worried about religious sites in Ukraine.

“Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion now may include destruction to religious and cultural sites in Ukraine,” said Aaron Keyak, the deputy envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, on a Zoom call hosted by the Jewish the Jewish Federations of North America.

“We are appalled by reports that a Russian missile had struck near the hallowed Holocaust memorial site of Babi Yar,” he added.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Keyak also decried Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assertion last week that Russian forces intended to carry out the “denazification” of Ukraine.

“Putin’s claim that Ukraine is a hotbed of Naziism is a blatant fabrication and yet another of the false pretexts of his war, his war of choice,” Keyak said. “It’s not the first time the Kremlin has cynically accused its neighbors of neo-Nazism and fascism as a cover for its own provocations and human rights abuses.”

He called Putin’s claim “exploitation of the history and suffering of the Holocaust and World War II.” Keyak is the interim director of the State Department office that deals with antisemitism globally until President Biden’s nominee, renowned Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt, is confirmed in the job, which holds the rank of ambassador and requires Senate approval.

Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had held up a hearing vote on Lipstadt, who was nominated in July, for seven months. But she testified before the committee last month and it is scheduled to vote on her nomination Tuesday.

The full Senate must then approve her nomination for her to become ambassador.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount