Peace does not yet mean security: Ukrainian Jewish public figure Iosif Zisels on what Ukraine should learn from Israel

Ukrainian Jewish public figure Iosif Zisels called on Ukraine to become a "military power" and prepare for a possible new war even in the event of a truce with Russia. The human rights activist and former Soviet political prisoner told journalist Olga Lopatyuk in an interview with the Odessa publication "Intent", published on October 30, 2026.

Author: R.Verter

Zisels is one of the leaders of the Vaad of Ukraine, an association of Jewish organizations and communities, and a participant in the Ukrainian Helsinki Group. This human rights association emerged in the USSR to monitor compliance with the Helsinki Accords; participation in it risked one's freedom. He was arrested in 1978 and 1984; in total, he spent six years in detention.
Why he talks about Israel

Zisels calls the independence of 1991 only the beginning of state building. Democracy, law, economy, and the army, he reminds, had to be created separately. He reproaches Ukrainian leaders for underestimating the military threat for decades. Even in the 1990s, some nationally oriented activists warned of a confrontation with Russia and went to gain combat experience in Transnistria, the Balkans, and Georgia. Transnistria is…

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