Do not betray our allies

To the Editor:

In the early 1970s, my kind and gentle grandmother cursed as she watched each floor of the Russian Mission lifting into place. The rising white tower in North Riverdale brought back terrifying memories of marauding Cossacks and deadly pogroms in what is now Lithuania. 

Three years ago, Russia’s president started its country’s next invasion of Ukraine (following the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.) Jewish groups staged large weekly protests outside of the Russian Mission and were joined by our neighbors from Ukraine and elsewhere. The number of protesters soon dwindled, perhaps with knowledge that the US and European governments were standing with and supporting Ukraine. 

About a dozen of our Ukrainian neighbors continue their vigil. The cameras and publicity are gone. Every Sunday at 3:00pm – with a deep love for their homeland and devoted to its continued independence from a marauding country -- they gather to demonstrate their undying patriotic dedication. 

Community residents from various ancestral homelands, religions and political affiliations can still show our support for Ukraine on a local level each Sunday on Mosholu Avenue. 

We the People do not betray our allies.  

Lisa Daub