First Holodomor memorial erected in Jerusalem

The first memorial in Israel commemorating the victims of the 1932–1933 Holodomor has been installed in Jerusalem’s Rose Garden, volunteer Martin Danichev reported.

“This monument was designed by artists Ludmilla Temertey and David Robinson and made possible by the City of Jerusalem, the Temerty Foundation, the Embassy of Ukraine in Israel, the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium, the Ukrainian World Congress and the Jerusalem Development Authority,” the memorial’s plaque reads.

An official unveiling ceremony is yet to take place. Ukraine’s National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide said it is currently clarifying the details.

“I fully understand the organizational silence, given the presence of Russians and vandals in Israel. But the significance of this event is enormous, and the gratitude to all involved is immeasurable,” wrote Lesia Hasydzhak, the museum’s director.

Hasydzhak added that a nearly identical monument by Ludmilla Temertey has stood in Edmonton, Canada, for 41 years.

Zoryan Kis, First Secretary at the Embassy of Ukraine in Israel, said an announcement of the date and time of the official unveiling is forthcoming.

“The park is currently under reconstruction, so the monument has not yet been officially opened,” Kis said.

Israel has not officially recognized the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people. In 2022, Israel’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, said the country typically refrains from making formal decisions about recognizing national tragedies of other nations.