Postmodernism between War and Peace

Many Ukrainians picture Israel relying on what they read in Shalo mAleichem’s books. On May 23, h o wever, when The Day was visited by Anna Azari, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to Ukraine (in the photo), it transpired that the concepthadvery little to do with the cur rent realities of Israeli society.

“On May 13, Israel celebrated — and I stress the word celebrated — the arrival of the millionth repatriate from the former USSR,” the Ambassador said. Strange as it may seem, however, problems relating to the cultural adaptation of its residents are not as acute as, for example, the problems of East- West or Russian-Ukrainian relationships in Ukraine. “There is a mutual enrichment of cultures,” noted Anna Azari. “In Israel we do not try to make everybody conform to a uniform standard. In a way, we have become a postmodernist state where everybody is free to act as he/she deems best.”

On the other hand, faced with a constant confrontation with the Arab world, Israeli social and cultural problems could fade into the background. “We are all tired of war,” the Ambassador pointed out, “but we cannot ignore the issue under enemy fire.” She was not sure about the possibility of a quick peaceful settlement of the conflict or any possible way to handle it. Commenting on recent events, Ms. Azari broached the subject of Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. Before her visit Interfax Ukraine, referring to EFE, reported that Israeli troops were being evacuated from two important positions in the security zone in southern Lebanon. Originally, the withdrawal deadline was set on July 7. There is no official confirmation that the Israeli withdrawal is being stepped up, although the State Radio of Israel reported that the withdrawal would be completed in a matter of days. “Yehud Barak promised and there are signs he is really going to get the troops out of Lebanon before July. He is very active in waging this policy, so troops are pulling out and part of the Lebanese forces that supported us are being evacuated,” the diplomat told the editorial staff.

(See next issue for the interview with Anna Azari)