- October 1, 2026
- 6:36 pm
- World News
“The brutal and unjustifiable attack by Russia on Ukraine must stop”
Author: Lev Varshavsky
Knesset member Gilad Kariv from the “Democrats” party made a statement on October 1, 2026, after the funeral of 14-year-old Israeli Daniel Umansky, who died during a Russian drone attack on Kyiv. Kariv wrote about this literally after the ceremony:
“I am leaving the sad funeral of 14-year-old Daniel Umansky, who died as a result of a Russian drone attack on Kyiv on the eve of the Sukkot holiday.”
Further in his post, he moves beyond mere condolences to the family. Kariv addresses the war itself and states his position very directly: “The brutal and unjustifiable attack by Russia on Ukraine must stop.” He then adds another phrase directly concerning Israel:
“Israel must stand on the side of the citizens of Ukraine”.
Kariv is an opposition deputy, so his words do not represent a statement from the Israeli government and do not in themselves indicate a change in the country’s official foreign policy. But there is an important detail: he heads the Knesset Committee on Aliyah, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs. Its work includes issues of repatriation, integration of new immigrants, and Israel’s relations with Jewish communities abroad.
This is why the continuation of his post seems logical. First, Kariv speaks in general: “Israel must stand on the side of the citizens of Ukraine”. Then he specifically highlights those whose connection to Israel is most direct: Jews of Ukraine, Israelis living in Ukraine, immigrants from Ukraine, and war refugees currently in Israel. These are precisely the groups that directly intersect with the sphere of work of the parliamentary committee he heads.
“Israel must stand … and … on the side of the Jews of Ukraine, Israelis who live there, immigrants from Ukraine who live in Israel, and war refugees who today live in Israel under difficult conditions,” wrote Kariv.
Daniel studied in Tel Aviv
In the same post, Kariv shared some details about Daniel Umansky that are particularly important for the Israeli reader. Daniel studied at the “Ahavat Zion” school in Tel Aviv. Three years ago, he moved to Kyiv with his father Zorik, mother Natalia, and older brother due to his father’s work.
Meanwhile, Daniel’s grandmother, grandfather, and large family continued to live in Israel. After his death, his parents decided to bring their son back here and bury him in Israel. Kariv conveyed this very simply: the parents wanted “to bring him home and lay him to eternal rest in Israel.”
At the funeral, Daniel’s father and mother spoke. The farewell speeches were delivered in two languages, and as Kariv wrote, they “left not a single dry eye.” This is a detail that adds little to the dry chronicle of the strike on Kyiv but adds a lot to the understanding of how this story is perceived here in Israel.
For the Israeli audience, Daniel is not an abstract victim of a distant war. He lived here, studied here, his relatives live here, and his parents brought him here to be buried. It was after this funeral that Kariv wrote about Israel needing to stand on the side of the citizens of Ukraine.
NANews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency has already written about a similar stance by another prominent Israeli opposition politician.
Lapid spoke first. Now — Kariv. Who’s next?
In September, NANews already noted a strange thing in the Israeli election campaign of 2026: Ukraine was hardly mentioned as an independent point of future policy. From the open pre-election materials that the editorial team managed to check at the time, Yair Lapid was the first among major Israeli politicians in the campaign to not only express support for Ukraine but also directly link the attitude towards it with what his political camp intends to do after returning to power.
On September 16, Lapid said this without the usual diplomatic caution. He called Russia an ally of Iran, stated that the policy of 2022 was no longer sufficient, and promised: “If we return to power, we will do much more than we did then.” When asked directly about helping Ukraine, he answered even more simply: “We must do everything possible to help Ukraine”. Full analysis by NANews: Yair Lapid on Ukraine: “Russia is an ally of Iran”.
At that time, NANews asked a very natural question: where are the others? Israelis have been witnessing the war in Ukraine for four and a half years, seeing Russian-Iranian military cooperation, and observing how Ukraine’s experience in fighting drones is becoming increasingly relevant to Israel. Yet, in the election programs of the largest political forces, the attitude towards Ukraine is still rarely formulated as a separate and understandable policy.
Now this question can be posed even more specifically. The Israeli Central Election Committee received 38 lists, and on September 27, the approved ballots were published. But if we look not at all the registered technical lists, but at those political forces that, according to the latest polls, are realistically vying for entry into the next Knesset or are near the electoral threshold, the circle is noticeably narrower.
Among them are “Yashar!” by Gadi Eisenkot, “Likud” by Benjamin Netanyahu, “Be-Yachad” by Naftali Bennett, where Yair Lapid is the second number, “Democrats” by Yair Golan, “Our Home Israel” by Avigdor Lieberman, Shas by Aryeh Deri, “Yahadut HaTorah”, “Otzma Yehudit” by Itamar Ben-Gvir, “Religious Zionism” by Bezalel Smotrich, as well as those near the threshold “Reservists and Economic” by Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha and “Amcha Israel” by Ofer Winter. “Kahol Lavan” by Benny Gantz is also officially registered, but according to the latest measurements, it is already difficult to confidently classify it as passing.
And here the question becomes very specific: what exactly do these forces intend to do regarding Ukraine if they find themselves in the next Knesset or government?
This is especially noticeable because the Ukrainian issue for Israel has long ceased to be solely a matter of external solidarity. Russia cooperates with Iran, Ukraine has accumulated vast practical experience in drone warfare, and tens of thousands of Israelis are connected to Ukraine through family, profession, or repatriation. NANews has separately written about the practical side of this issue — for example, in the article “Look at Ukraine, look at Israel”: the head of IAI admitted that the threat of drones was addressed too late.
Now after Lapid, Kariv has spoken. And his words appeared not during a major political interview, but after the funeral of a 14-year-old Israeli who died in a Russian attack on Kyiv: “Israel must stand on the side of the citizens of Ukraine”.
It turns out that the question NANews asked back in September has not disappeared. On the contrary, it is becoming more noticeable: who will be next and when will the other Israeli politicians finally clearly explain to the electorate what they see as Israel’s policy towards Ukraine?
Not a general phrase about peace. Not another cautious diplomatic statement. But a concrete position: what Israel intends to do, where its red line lies in relations with Russia, and what place Ukraine occupies in its own security strategy.
Lapid began to formulate such a position first. Now Kariv has joined him.
The others are mostly silent for now.
Why Kariv’s position matters here
For a reader who does not follow the work of the Knesset daily, the name Gilad Kariv may require clarification. He is a deputy from the “Democrats” and the chairman of the Committee on Aliyah, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs. This is not a foreign policy committee and not a structure that determines the government’s position on Russia’s war against Ukraine.
But this committee deals with issues of immigrants, their integration in Israel, and the state’s connections with Jewish communities abroad. Therefore, Kariv’s mention of Ukrainian Jews, Israelis in Ukraine, immigrants from Ukraine, and war refugees is not only related to a general political position. These are also people who fall within the scope of his direct parliamentary work.
And here his post becomes noticeably broader than a usual condolence. He not only speaks about the deceased child and the family he met at the funeral but also tries to connect this specific tragedy with Israel’s broader position towards the citizens of Ukraine.
With the figure “two million dead,” it’s more complicated
In Kariv’s publication, there is also a figure that cannot simply be transferred from Facebook to a news text without explanation. He wrote: “According to various estimates, two million people, soldiers and civilians, have lost their lives in this cursed and illegal war.”
These words need to be conveyed exactly as Kariv’s quote. But using the figure “two million dead” as a confirmed editorial fact is not possible. In international assessments, the figure of about two million usually refers to total military losses — that is, the dead, wounded, and missing together.
Therefore, it is important to separate two things here. Kariv indeed wrote exactly this, and it is part of his statement.
This clarification does not change the content of his statement about Russia and does not dispute the political message of the post itself. It simply separates the quote from a verifiable fact — something that is mandatory in a news article.
“Nation shall not lift up sword against nation”
Kariv concluded his post with a line from the book of the prophet Isaiah: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” Before this, he wrote: “May the memory of Daniel — Dan — be kept in our hearts.”
This is the peculiarity of today’s statement. It does not begin with a Knesset session, a diplomatic meeting, or an interview on foreign policy. It begins with the funeral of a 14-year-old Israeli boy who died in Kyiv.
And only after this does Kariv move on to politics and writes: “Israel must stand on the side of the citizens of Ukraine”.
