Alla Umanskiy's 2022 Passover Message

Elie Wiesel said, “I love Passover, because for me it is a cry against indifference, a cry for compassion.”

What would Mr. Wiesel think if he lived to see the genocide that is happening in Ukraine right now? What would other Holocaust and war survivors think of the endless bombing of Ukrainian cities in the name of one man’s ego.

This Passover, I wish and pray for nothing but peace for Ukraine — a country where I was born, a country where my parents and grandparents were born.

Moreover, I hope to see a cry against indifference from the world, which, instead of standing idly by or wringing hands, will continue to do everything to help Ukraine push the enemy off its land.

I pray for the restoration of Ukrainian cities, homes, playgrounds, office buildings, souls. I pray that the spirit of the Ukrainian people and their President will hold up through these trials and adversities. I hope for a blue sky like the top blue of the Ukrainian flag, and the yellow wheat fields like the bottom yellow. This Passover, there’s nothing else.

Alla Umanskiy is a contributor to the Atlanta Jewish Times, a writer, a Jewish mom/wife and a mediocre ice skater.