Israel continues to be torn between Russia and Ukraine, between the United States and Russia and between defending itself against Iranian entrenchment in Russia-backed Syria and a moral commitment to a European democracy.

Normally, Israel’s affiliation with the free, democratic West is beyond doubt, but these are not normal times. While Russian forces are trampling Ukraine, other Russian military units are deployed just beyond Israel’s northern border, potentially risking its ongoing operations to uproot Iran’s military presence in the region. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin and twice with Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelenskyy, trying to make the best of a horrible situation without much to show for his efforts so far.

Construction and Housing Minister Ze’ev Elkin embodies Israel’s dilemma. A former Likud stalwart, Elkin quit the ruling party in December 2020 along with fellow Likud veteran Gideon Saar to form the New Hope Party. Elkin is considered one of the most experienced figures in Israel’s rough-and-tumble political arena. Born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union, he was hounded as a young dissident by the KGB until immigrating to Israel in 1990. This week, he watched photos of the disaster unfolding in his hometown and prayed for his brother and his family who still live there and are in danger.

At the this week's meeting of the foreign affairs and security cabinet, Elkin delivered an impassioned speech, accusing the government of which he is a member of failing to prepare for the consequences of the war in Europe because it did not believe Putin would invade. The government did not draw up contingency plans to extricate the Jewish populations of Ukraine’s four major cities ahead of time and is now unable to help them get out, Elkin charged.