Sep 29, 2026
Today, I had the honor of joining Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in participating in a commemorative ceremony marking the 85th anniversary of the Babi Yar tragedy
Joining us in honoring the memory of the victims were Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga, diplomats and representatives from nearly 50 countries, as well as the chief rabbis of Ukrainian cities and representatives of Jewish communities
For the Jewish people, Babi Yar is a wound that has remained unhealed for generations. In just two days, September 29–30, 1941, the Nazis shot 33,771 Jews here. Overall, during the years of occupation, the number of people killed in Babi Yar is estimated at hundreds of thousands of people of various nationalities
Remembrance is the responsibility of the living. After all, hatred never begins with a gunshot. First come the words, the humiliation, the indifference to others’ pain—and only then does the evil arrive, which is already difficult to stop