Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has been winning hearts and support from many people as his country is in the midst of a war declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin. This includes Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has called Zelensky to express his unconditional support as ammunition and missiles supplied by Australia arrives in Ukraine.[1]
But, after all, who is Volodymyr Zelensky, the “accidental” President of Ukraine?
Volodymyr Zelensky was born to Jewish parents in the Ukrainian city of Rkyvyi Rih. He earned a law degree from the Kryvyi Rih Institute of Economics but did not practice law, preferring instead to make a career as a comedian. [2]
In the 2019 election, Zelensky was the most unlikely candidate to win that election.[3] Before he was elected, Zelensky created and starred in a political satire called Servant of the People. The series introduced the character of a teacher who unexpectedly becomes president. And it was his work on this political satire “that was something of a road map for his rise to the presidency”.[4]
Like Justin Trudeau, Zelensky is an acolyte of Klaus Schwab’s World Economic Forum (WEF), the globalist organisation behind the ‘Great Reset’.[5] When Zelensky was elected, in 2019, he railed the Canadian Prime Minister as “one of those leaders who inspired him” to “join politics”.[6]
Under Zelensky, the Ukrainian government has legalized abortion, the use of cannabis (weed), prostitution, and gambling.[7]
Zelensky presides over a notoriously corrupt regime. He has been accused of corruption and was named in Pandora Papers. He and his production company have been linked to offshore shell companies.[8]
His government is also known for shutting down the media, for arresting political opponents, for the assassination of journalists under his reign, and for banning the Russian language in education for Russian speakers, which violates the rights of Russian speakers who comprise half of the Ukrainian population.[9]
Zelensky is a nominal Jew. Prior to Ukraine’s invasion, the comedian-turned-president told in 2020 that he had an “ordinary … Jewish upbringing” and that his family “wasn’t religious”.[10] But since Russia’s invasion, Zelensky has made explicit reference to Judaism in stirring social media posts to rally support for Ukraine. “With online posts in Hebrew and appeals to Jews to ‘cry out’ in response to Russia’s invasion, … Zelensky has invoked his faith to rally support for his embattled country”.[11]
Unfortunately, Zelensky’s religious affiliation hasn’t prevented him from recruiting Arab and other extremists from various nationalities to fight against Russian troops. As reported by Al-Mayadeen Media Network, an Arab satellite news channel,
“Close to 450 extremist Arab and foreign nationals have arrived in Ukraine from Idlib to fight against Russia’s forces, less than only three days after they left Syria, passing through Turkey.
“Relatives of extremists that have arrived in Ukraine told Sputnik that senior fighters from terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (the rebranded version of Jabhat Al-Nusra, i.e Al-Qaeda) have held a number of meetings with senior leaders in the Turkistan Islamic Party group and Ansar Al-Tawhid and Hurras al-Din groups, and agreed on allowing a number of all their fighters to enter Ukraine through Turkish soil.
“The sources added that most of these foreign fighters are veterans of the Syrian war, had been causing issues in Idlib, and were given this opportunity to fight against Russia as a compromise by which they would receive a new start and with an acceptable income”.[12]
As can be seen, writes Leon Kushner, a journalist who regularly contributes to The Jerusalem Post,
“Zelensky is as Jewish as Bernie Sanders or George Soros. Technically he was born Jewish but that’s where it ends. He left his Judaism by the road side years ago. He is no real friend to Israel and tolerates the neo-Nazis in his own government quite well. He does what his masters tell him to do and say. He has probably been paid off by Soros who is loving all of us Western nations spending billions to prop up this corrupt state and leader. Do you recall their capitulation to then VP Biden to fire their prosecutor who was looking at the fraud committed by the Burisma corporation who had Hunter Biden as a board member? They wanted the billions of US dollars from the Obama administration and would do anything for the money.”[13]
Zelensky is deeply associated with those who used the pretext of a pandemic to undermine the rule of law and violate even the most basic rights of the individual. Support for Zelensky comes from Western oligarchs like George Soros, Klaus Schwab, Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Joseph Biden and, of course, the Australian Prime Minister.
Like Zelensky, Kushner is a Jew who was raised by Holocaust survivors from Ukraine. According to him,
“Ukraine is not a democracy and never has been. It is as corrupt as Russia or perhaps more so. Definitely more antisemitic. Since 2014, Ukraine has become the world’s most popular money laundering state. Oligarchs run it mob style and chose the then actor Zelensky to be their presidential puppet. The WEF’s Klaus Schwab bragged about helping elect him and his equivalent Canadian puppet Trudeau. Just about every rich and famous player has been to Ukraine. And came back with even more money. From Bill Gates to Joe Biden, from George Soros to the Clintons. They all know that Ukraine is open for business.”[14]
Today I despair to see on social media many people posting a Ukrainian flag and telling me how brave and how wonderful the “First Jewish President” of Ukraine is.
Why are we giving him this kind of false idolatry?
The Russians sense that NATO is dangerously moving right into their border, by turning one of its former states, Ukraine, into a de facto member of the alliance. As such, the best solution for this crisis might be to turn Ukraine into a buffer between Russia on one side and NATO on the other. Arguably, the problem would be largely solved if President Biden wrote on paper that he does not want to see Ukraine joining NATO.[15]
Of course, neither the United States nor its Western allies are prepared to do so, which leads many to question the real motivations behind the condemnation of Russia and a concern that a push for a third world war is underfoot. As noted by British conservative writer Peter Hitchens:
“We’ve used Ukraine as a battering ram against Russia. Ukraine is the victim of our militancy. We’ve done the shouting, they get bombed”.[16]
Whether or not this might be true, the only undeniable fact is that Zelensky will go down in history as the president who intentionally led the citizens of his country to a horrible bloodshed, when the best option was to propose a peace agreement that could be negotiated to protect the powerless people of Ukraine.
Augusto Zimmermann is Professor and Head of Law at Sheridan Institute of Higher Education in Perth, WA. He is also Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney campus. From 2012 to 2017, he served as a Law Reform Commissioner in Western Australia. He is the author/co-author/editor/co-editor of many books, including Fundamental Rights in the Age of Covid-19 (Connor Court Publishing, 2021), Emergency Powers, COVID-19 Restrictions & Mandatory Vaccination – A Rule-of-Law Perspective (Connor Court Publishing, 2022), and Deconstructing ScoMo: Critical Reflections on Australia’s 30th Prime Minister (Locke Press, 2022)
[1] Ally Foster, ‘Scott Morrison Condemns Russia in Call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’, News.Com.Au, March 5, 2022, at https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/scott-morrison-condemns-russia-in-call-to-ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelenskyy/news-story/4d036c6112fe56457bf0375068048be7. See also: ‘Scott Morrison, Volodymyr Zelensky, Speak as missiles supplied by Australia arrive in Ukraine’, SBS News, March 6, 2022, at https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/scott-morrison-has-spoken-with-ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelenskyy-heres-what-they-discussed/b88u0172d
[2] ‘Ukrainian Trump or a Firm President? Here are 10 Things about Volodymyr Zelensky’, Livemint, February 26, 2022, at https://www.livemint.com/news/world/ukrainian-trump-or-a-firm-president-here-are-10-things-about-volodymyr-zelensky-11645878721738.html
[3] ‘Ukrainian Trump or a Firm President? Here are 10 Things about Volodymyr Zelensky’, Livemint, February 26, 2022, at https://www.livemint.com/news/world/ukrainian-trump-or-a-firm-president-here-are-10-things-about-volodymyr-zelensky-11645878721738.html
[4] Steffanie Tan, ‘Comedian to Wartime Here: The unlikely journey of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskly’, The New Daily, February 28, 2022, at https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2022/02/28/volodymyr-zelensky-comedian-hero/
[5] Jack Bingham, ‘Ukrainian President Zelensky is tied to Klaus Schwab, Justin Trudeau, and other Global Elites’, LifeSiteNews, March 3, 2022, at https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/why-would-the-ukrainian-president-cite-justin-trudeau-as-an-inspiration/
[6] Jack Bingham, ‘Ukrainian President Zelensky is tied to Klaus Schwab, Justin Trudeau, and other Global Elites’, LifeSiteNews, March 3, 2022, at https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/why-would-the-ukrainian-president-cite-justin-trudeau-as-an-inspiration/
[7] ‘10 Facts You Don’t Know About Zelensky, Ukraine’s President’, National Daily, March 4, 2022, at https://nationaldailyng.com/10-facts-you-dont-know-about-zelensky-ukraines-president/
[8] ‘Ukrainian Trump or a Firm President? Here are 10 Things about Volodymyr Zelensky’, Livemint, February 26, 2022, at https://www.livemint.com/news/world/ukrainian-trump-or-a-firm-president-here-are-10-things-about-volodymyr-zelensky-11645878721738.html
[9] Peter Rutland, ‘An Unnecessary War: The Geopolitical Roots of the Ukraine Crisis’, Wesleyan University, April 9, 2015, at http://prutland.faculty.wesleyan.edu/files/2015/07/Geopolitics-and-the-Ukraine-crisis.pdf
[10] ‘Zelensky Invokes Judaism to Rally Support for Ukrainian Cause’, France 24, March 4, 2022, at https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220304-zelensky-invokes-judaism-to-rally-support-for-ukrainian-cause
[11] ‘Zelensky Invokes Judaism to Rally Support for Ukrainian Cause’, France 24, March 4, 2022, at https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220304-zelensky-invokes-judaism-to-rally-support-for-ukrainian-cause
[12] ‘450 Arab and Foreign Extremists From Idlib Arrive in Ukraine’, All Mayadeen, March 8, 2022, at https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/450-arab-and-foreign-extremists-from-idlib-arrive-in-ukraine
[13] Leon Kushner, ‘Why are so many Idolizing Zelensky and Ukraine?’, March 8, 2022, at https://grandmageri422.me/2022/03/08/why-are-so-many-idolizing-zelensky-and-ukraine/
[14] Leon Kushner, ‘Why are so many Idolizing Zelensky and Ukraine?’, March 8, 2022, at https://grandmageri422.me/2022/03/08/why-are-so-many-idolizing-zelensky-and-ukraine/
[15] Jonathan Power, ‘Ukraine Should Have a Policy of ‘Non-Involvement with NATO’, Opined Zbigniew Brzezinski’, IDN – InDepthNews, 26 February 2022, at https://www.indepthnews.net/index.php/opinion/5106-ukraine-should-have-a-policy-of-non-involvement-with-nato-opined-zbigniew-brzezinski
[16] ‘Peter Hitchens: “We’ve used Ukraine as a battering ram against Russia’, YouTube, February 28, 2022, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvmddazUW3I
