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Transcript/ScriptFOR USAGM SHARE
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: Israel Ukraine Holocaust Survivors (TV)
HEADLINE: Ukrainian Holocaust Survivors Flee to Israel
TEASER: Fearing for their lives yet again, many are starting a new life in their 80s
PUBLISHED AT: 05/04/2022 at 3:15pm
BYLINE: Linda Gradstein
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Petach Tikva, Israel
VIDEOGRAPHER: Ricki Rosen, Courtesy
PRODUCER: Henry Hernandez
SCRIPT EDITORS: LR, BR
VIDEO SOURCES: VOA, AFP, Israeli Knesset TV, Zaka International Rescue Unit, International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _x_
TRT: 2:56
VID APPROVED BY:
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATES: On Web page, please post camera credit for Ricki Rosen))
((INTRO))
[[The Holocaust is at the center of a growing diplomatic row between Moscow and Jerusalem. This week, Russia accused Israel of supporting what Moscow describes as the “neo-Nazi regime” in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov angered Israelis when he said that even Jews like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky can be antisemitic, and that Hitler had Jewish blood. Meanwhile, an estimated 500 Ukrainian Holocaust survivors have had to flee their homes once again for the second time in their lives. Linda Gradstein and Ricki Rosen report from the Israeli town of Petach Tikva.]]
((Mandatory cg: Knesset TV))
((NARRATOR))
The Holocaust, when six million Jews were killed by the Nazis during World War Two, has been repeatedly invoked by both Russia and Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in late February.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, says that Russia is betraying the lessons of the Holocaust.
((Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President (Male in Russian, NEEDS VOICEOVER),
“After the death by Russian shelling of ordinary people who had survived Nazi occupation and Nazi concentration camps, such an antisemitic remark by their minister shows that Russia has forgotten all the lessons of World War Two."
((Mandatory cg: ZAKA International Rescue Unit))
((NARRATOR))
Among those who will never forget are Holocaust survivors like Riva Trypilska, a frail 94-year-old who fled Kyiv for Israel a few weeks ago. In 1941, she fled to Uzbekistan to escape the Nazis. Now fleeing her home again decades later, Riva brought one small bag containing only a few of her beloved books.
((Riva Trypilska, Ukrainian Holocaust Survivor (Female in Russian, NEEDS VOICEOVER - VOA))
“I never thought this would happen again. After World War Two ended and Hitler was defeated, the good people won. There was supposed to be peace in the world and no more antisemitism, nothing.”
((Mandatory cg: International Fellowship of Christians and Jews))
((NARRATOR))
Riva and 260 other Holocaust survivors were among the more than 3,000 Ukrainian Jews flown to Israel from Moldova recently by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
Approximately 15,000 Ukrainian and ….
((Mandatory cg: ZAKA International Rescue Unit))
…. Russian Jews have been brought to Israel by humanitarian organizations and NGOs.
Most of the Holocaust survivors are in their 80’s and older, and the move to Israel can be challenging.
((Benny Hadad, International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (Male in English, VOA))
((Mandatory cg: Zoom))
“They didn’t expect that their home, their life will be on fire. But literally their home is on fire now and Israel should be their second home. ((Mandatory cg: ZAKA International Rescue Unit)) They weren’t refugees in Ukraine. ((end courtesy)) They were peaceful citizens who lived their life, but they lost everything in one moment.”
((NARRATOR))
Eighty-five-year-old Valery Bendersky was a young boy when he fled Kharkiv and went to Kazakhstan during the Holocaust. Now he’s been forced to escape again to Israel, with his daughter and cat. He plays a guitar given to him when he arrived and sings a song he wrote about being a two-time refugee.
((Valery Bendersky, Ukrainian Holocaust Survivor (Male in Russian, NEEDS VOICEOVER- VOA))
“We are refugees, a sad scene. Having abandoned everything and with horror in our soul. We fled from Putin from Ukraine, the same way I once fled from Hitler."
((NARRATOR))
Bendersky says he made a new life for himself once and now he’s determined to start over again.
((Linda Gradstein, for VOA News, Petach Tikva, Israel))
NewsML Media TopicsConflict, War and Peace, Human Interest
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMay 4, 2022 16:01 EDT
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
