It always saddens me when I have to write yet another blog about a scandal — especially one that feels entirely avoidable.

This time, it is about the tensions that arose following the reburial of Andriy Melnyk, the leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), and the reaction it provoked not only in Israel but also in Poland — Ukraine’s essential partner, which shares a border with the country and serves as a key hub for transporting military aid to the embattled state.

The history here is, at the very least, complicated. Much of it has been distorted by Soviet and Russian propaganda, which has done an outstanding job demonizing Ukraine’s role during World War II, despite the fact that it was the Soviet Union that signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and helped divide Europe — and Poland in particular — before some of the worst crimes of the Holocaust took place.

The history here is, at the very least, complicated. Much of it has been distorted by Soviet and Russian propaganda, which has done an outstanding job demonizing Ukraine’s role during World War II, despite the fact that it was the Soviet Union that signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and helped divide Europe — and Poland in particular — before some of the worst crimes of the Holocaust took place.

But it is also true........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)