Complicated thoughts about Ukraine

As Russia has invaded Ukraine my feelings are mixed, contradictory, and contradictory to that of many others.

For me, and many Jews, anything regarding Ukraine brings with it thought of our history and persecution there. In modern times we recall Babi Yar where 34,000 Jews were murdered in Kiev over three days in September 1941. The Nazis orchestrated and many Ukrainians were enthusiastic partners. Ukraine was part of the Pale of Settlement, the area in which Jews were permitted to live, meaning that we were prevented from living in the rest of Czarist Russia. Even if Jews had the ability to l...