- November 17, 2025
- 9:52 am
- Israel
What is happening in Ukraine today? How is this country holding up during a monstrous war, despite enormous losses and destruction? What are the possible vectors for Ukraine’s development in the future? How is Israel perceived in Ukraine today, and what might Ukrainian-Israeli relations look like tomorrow? These questions will be answered during a discussion at the ANU Museum by leading Ukrainian scholars and public intellectuals Yaroslav Hrytsak and Yaroslav Prytula.
On November 18, 2025, the ANU – Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv will become a platform for an important intellectual conversation about Ukraine: its present, the trauma of war, and what the post-war future might be.
The discussion “The Present and Future of Ukraine” will be held in English. At the center of the discussion are historian Yaroslav Hrytsak and economist Yaroslav Prytula. They represent the modern Ukrainian academic school: one explores how Ukrainian identity was formed, the other how to build an economy capable of withstanding crises and transformations.
Moderator — researcher of Jewish and Eastern European history Semyon Goldin.
Why it matters
Ukraine is experiencing a war that changes not only geopolitics but also the very understanding of what a state and public responsibility are. Israel is a country that has lived and continues to live under threats, returning and strengthening institutions for decades.
Therefore, the conversation in Tel Aviv is not a formality.
It is a dialogue between two models of survival and development.
Here they know that war is not only the front. It is:
- the work of institutions,
- an economy under strain,
- memory and politics of memory,
- a culture of resistance,
- and the ability to build a future even before victory.
Who are the speakers
Yaroslav Hrytsak
Historian, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor
Born on January 1, 1960, in the Lviv region.
- Doctor of Historical Sciences, defended his dissertation in 1996.
- Professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU).
- Worked as the director of the Institute of Historical Research at the Lviv National University named after Ivan Franko.
- Editor-in-chief of the journal “Ukraine Moderna”.
- Research areas: modern history of Ukraine, nation-building, history of Eastern Europe, historical memory.
- Author of numerous works, including:
- “An Outline of the History of Ukraine: Formation of the Modern Ukrainian Nation”
- “Overcoming the Past: A Global History of Ukraine” (2021)
- “Ukraine: The Forging of a Nation”
Hrytsak is one of those who explains Ukraine through facts and long-term processes, not emotions. His approach is about a nation that is forming, modernizing, and learning to be a political community.
Yaroslav Prytula
Economist, PhD, First Vice-Rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University
Born on October 28, 1970, in Lviv.
- Graduated from Lviv University, received a PhD in 2000.
- Associate Professor, Professor, and then First Vice-Rector of UCU.
- Main areas of work:
- applied methods of analysis in social sciences,
- economy of Ukraine,
- sustainable regional development,
- corruption and institutional practices,
- economics of education and human capital development.
Previously headed the Faculty of Applied Sciences at UCU and was involved in building modern educational programs and research schools.
If Hrytsak helps to understand who Ukraine is, then Prytula answers the question of how Ukraine can become a state capable of growing and developing after the war.
ANU – Museum of the Jewish People: where the discussion takes place
The event will be held at the ANU – Museum of the Jewish People — one of the most significant cultural and educational institutions in Israel dedicated to the history of the Jewish people from antiquity to the present.
Where it is located
The museum is located on the campus of Tel Aviv University in the Ramat Aviv area:
📍 Klausner St 15, Tel Aviv-Yafo
It is a modern museum complex, adjacent to major academic institutions, research centers, and libraries.
A brief history
- Opened in 1978 under the name Beit Hatfutsot — “The Museum of the Jewish Diaspora”.
- In 2005, officially recognized as the national center for the study of the history of Jewish communities.
- Underwent extensive renovation in the 2010s.
- Reopened in 2021 under the new name ANU — We (in Hebrew “אנחנו”), reflecting the focus on the unity of the Jewish people in the past, present, and future.
What the museum consists of
The exhibition is structured as a three-level space:
- Origins and Traditions
Religious heritage, Bible, rituals, Jewish calendar. - History and Paths of the Diaspora
Migrations, states, empires, communities of different eras, the Holocaust, the creation of the State of Israel. - Modernity and Culture
Jewish identity today, art, science, music, social movements, global connections.
Visitors are accompanied by multimedia installations, archival materials, family stories, diaspora maps, interactive databases.
What the museum aims to achieve
ANU not only collects historical materials but also fulfills a mission:
- strengthening Jewish identity and community connections worldwide
- supporting research projects
- educational programs for youth and families
- international cultural initiatives
- preserving the memory of diasporas and their contribution to the global cultural and scientific context
It is a space where global Jewish history meets contemporary issues — about statehood, survival, culture, diaspora, and the future.
Who this conversation is for
- the Ukrainian community in Israel;
- Israelis interested in Ukraine;
- students and researchers of history, economics, politics;
- people for whom the issue of Ukraine is not a background news story but a part of life.
This event is about maturity.
About a serious conversation without slogans.
About the fact that the future is built not only on the front but also in minds.
What such a meeting provides
Such events are important because they form the intellectual and cultural architecture of post-war Ukraine.
Justice, resilience, historical memory, social capital, a new contract between the state and society — these topics cannot be closed with press releases and reports.
It is precisely such conversations that create a space where the country stops waiting for the future — and begins to construct it itself.
Details from the organizers and tickets:
For those who find it important to understand not only the headlines but also the processes behind them, this meeting is an opportunity to hear an informed and honest discussion about a country that continues to fight and rebuild itself. We invite you to join the discussion “The Present and Future of Ukraine” at ANU — to hear the voices of those who think strategically, ask difficult questions, and propose paths for development. Now it is especially important to be not observers but participants in the conversation that shapes the view of Ukraine — rational, mature, and future-oriented.
on the website of ANU – Museum of the Jewish People https://www.anumuseum.org.il/he/events/ukraine-tomorrow/
