Jews and the Ukrainian National Liberation Movement of the 19th – Early 20th Centuries

Abstract

The article examines the relationship between Ukrainian and Jewish elites in the Ukrainian lands during the 19th and early 20th centuries from a theoretical standpoint. It explains why Ukrainian and Jewish national movements did not reach a beneficial compromise in the Ukrainian territories. The article includes the viewpoints of important Ukrainian political philosophers such as Panteleimon Kulish, Mykhailo Hrushevsky, Mykola Mikhnovskyi, and others on the Jewish issue and chances for Ukrainian-Jewish collaboration on the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires' Ukrainian territories. The authors analyse the assimilation that Jewish intellectuals faced after exposure to the Russian and Ukrainian cultures and accession to political organisations. They also draw parallels between Zionism and the Ukrainian national movement. In conclusion, the article emphasizes the importance of a mutually beneficial and transparent Ukrainian-Jewish dialogue, considering the prior positive cooperation.

Keywords

• jewish
• ukrainian
• movement
• cooperation
• conflicts
• assimilation