The “Ukraine-Israel Forum 2016” was held on November 24, 2016
The “Ukraine-Israel Forum 2016. 25 years of Diplomatic Relations: From Common Heritage to a Shared Vision” took place on November 24, 2016 in Kyiv. Forum Organizer – Embassy of Israel in Ukraine, Co-organizer – A7 CONFERENCES.
The forum was organized on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relationships between Israel and Ukraine. The main goal of the event was to highlight the economic, cultural and political achievements of the 25 years of relations.
The forum brought together the government officials, business and international financial institutions representatives, academics and public personalities from Ukraine and Israel in order to discuss the prospects of promoting the dialogue, which should be the key to further fruitful cooperation between the countries.
During the panel discussions the participants had a chance to hear the success stories, future plans and pressing issues of the agricultural, tourism, education, health and other sectors. A distinctive part of the forum was a discussion on the consideration of the main priorities and directions of the future Ukrainian-Israeli cooperation.
The main feature of the event was a lecture by the Speaker of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset), Mr. Yoel Edelstein. As a special event, there was a presentation of a unique Israeli company ReWalk Robotics whose technology enables wheelchair-bound people to walk. The presentation that was held for the first time in Ukraine, included a demonstration of this technology.
Yoel Edelstein, Speaker of Knesset, said: “Today you are in power, tomorrow – in opposition. This is the nature of democracy. The parliament as a democratic tool is a permanent fact. Ukraine is, undoubtedly, a democratic country. We will not rewrite the story of our relationship. Our relations are developing, and the crowded hall today with participants from different areas demonstrates that this path is the right one”.
Eliav Belotserkovsky, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to Ukraine, said: “I think that the main purpose of today’s Forum is an exchange of views and experiences between our colleagues from Israel and our Ukrainian friends. This exchange leads to the maximum realization of each of us. And this is what is the most important. On my opinion, this is the key to prosperity of Israel and Ukraine. This is the secret that makes all of us more and more successful”.
Vyacheslav Kyrylenko, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, during his speech mentioned: “In the history of our people there are many dramatic pages. The Jewish people endured the horrible tragedy of the Holocaust. The Ukrainian people have experienced the terrible tragedy of the Holodomor. Our people know the price of life, independence and territorial integrity of the countries. We will continue to do everything to strengthen the friendship between Ukraine and Israel”.
Vitaly Portnikov, Ukrainian journalist, political commentator, author and opinion-maker, said: “There is a historical connection between Jews of Ukraine and Israel, and between Jews and Ukrainians. Prisoners of Zion, among whom was the speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein, like the Ukrainian freedom fighters that then worked on the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, held in the same camps and prisons of the Soviet Union. The efforts of Zion prisoners led to the ability to freely choose a homeland. Efforts to the Ukrainian dissidents led to the independence of Ukraine. And this is fair. Even when I was a schoolboy – and this was the detention time of Mr. Edelstein – I thought why Jews after millennium of exile got the right to return and establish their own state, and Ukrainians do not have these rights on their own land. And for the last 25 years we have something that was not over the whole period of our common history – the relationship on the level of independent states that represent the interests of our nations. I hope we will hear today about the development of these relations”.
Also in Forum took part: Ulana Suprun. Acting Minister of Health of Ukraine; Hanna Hopko, Head, Foreign Affairs Committee, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; Georgiy Logvinsky, Deputy Head, Committee on Human Rights, National Minorities and Interethnic Relations, Head, Subcommittee on International Legal Affairs and Internally Displaced; Yoel Hasson, Member of Knesset, Yoel Razvozov, Member of Knesset; Yulia Malinovsky, Member of Knesset; Georgiy Logvinsky, Deputy Head, Committee on Human Rights, National Minorities and Interethnic Relations; Head, Subcommittee on International Legal Affairs and Internally Displaced Persons, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; Borislav Rosenblatt, Deputy Head, Committee on Industrial Policy and Entrepreneurship, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; Daria Isakova, Editor-in-Chief, Landlord; Olga Trofimtseva, Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, TBC; Olena Lazarieva, Head of Department of Physical Rehabilitation, National University of Physical Education and Sport of Ukraine (NUPESU); Yaroslav Boiko, CEO, Agrilab; Alyssa Trawkina, CIO, Coworking Platforma; Lyubomyr Dykun, Vice-President, Ukrainian Diary Association; Dmitro Nikolaiev, Project Manager, Ukraine Horticulture Business Development Project (UHBDP); Sergiy Savranskiy, Director, Netafim Ukraine; Anna Serokurova, PR Director, Israel Government Tourist Office in Kiev; Shahar David Shilo, Head, Negev Highlands, Tourism Association; Olga Lapushenko, General Manager, LISOD – Clinic of Israel Oncology; Eli Avraham, Head, Comper Center for the Study of Antisemitism and Racism, University of Haifa; Vitaly Chernoivanenko, President, Ukrainian Association for Jewish Studies; Leonid Finberg, Director, Jewish Studies Institute; Iryna Golovatenko, Head, Unian Press Center; Vladislav Hrynevych, Historian, Institute of History of Ukraine, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; Michael Caspi, Owner, Rondo Tourism Company; Albert Feldman, Writer, Artist; Liliya Hrynevych, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine; Alexander Zelichenko, Writer, Publicist; Marina Belinski, Vice-President, National Academy for Public Administration under the President of Ukraine; Igor Krivtsun, Deputy Director, Ye. O. Paton Electric Welding Institute; Zeev Khanin, Chief Scientist, Israeli Ministry of Immigration Absorption; Mikhael Zinigrad, Rector, Head of Materials Research Center, Ariel University; Alexander Zelichenko, Writer, Publicist; Anatoly Podolsky, Ukrainian Scholar and Candidate of Historical Science; Peter Bach, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv; Yaron Sacher, Head, Department of Brain Injury Rehabilitation, Loewenstein Rehabilitation Hospital; Mark Sherman, Head of Medical Psychology Division, Trauma Expert, North District; Maxim Goldenberg, Emergency Management and International Relations Expert, Israel Trauma Coalition, Representative of LISOD Hospital, TBC; Evgeniy Imas, Head, Kiev National University of Sport, TBC; Rafael Yucha, CEO, Art Zavod Platforna; Raz Peleg, East Europe Sales Director, MOBILEYE; Roman Gold, Managing Partner, JS Capital; Elena Donest, CEO, Tel Aviv University Entrepreneurship Center (STARTAU); Maxim Yacover, Founder, Chasopys Creative Space; Cofounder, DreamKyiv; Maxim Rabinovich, Development Director, Nova Poshta; Alyssa Trawkina, CIO, Coworking Platforma; Samion Goldin, Senior Research Fellow, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Vladislav Grinvich, Historian, Institute of History of Ukraine, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and others.
Forum Organizer – Embassy of Israel in Ukraine, Co-organizer – A7 CONFERENCES. General Radio Partner – Radio Holos Stolytsy, General News Partner – Interfax-Ukraine, Exclusive Business Media Partner – “Business” newspaper, General TV Partner – News One. Media Partners: Ukrainian Business Journal, Business Views, KyivPost, Bizreliz. Supported by: SUP, Year of Europe in Ukraine 2020.
Materials and video of the conference are available on the website: www.a7conf.com/uif/en For additional information, please, contact by tel.: +38 044 227 27 77, +38 063 145 87 35, [email protected] (Anna-Veronika Krasnopolska).
