Zelensky hosts Ukraine’s rabbis for Passover reception, doesn’t mention Trump or Netanyahu

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky meets rabbis from the country’s main cities in his office in Kyiv for the Passover holiday, the fifth since Russian invaded in 2022.

The rabbis present Zelensky, himself Jewish, with a package of matzah baked in Dnipro and a new Ukrainian language translation of the Torah, the first of its kind.

The meeting, organized by the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, was originally scheduled for Sunday, March 29, which corresponds with the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson’s birthday, but was moved because of Zelensky’s visit to the Middle East last week, an FJCU source tells The Times of Israel.

During the hour-long meeting, Zelensky speaks about freedom, the central theme of Passover, and said that both Ukraine and Israel are praying for freedom and victory over the “axis of evil,” according to an attendee.

Zelensky does not mention either US President Donald Trump or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — both of whom he has strained relationships with — but instead “focused on the fight against evil, the victory of light, and the hope and freedom that Passover symbolizes,” one of the participants says.

Zelensky was in Jordan last week but did not visit Israel, and hasn’t spoken with Netanyahu in over a year.

“Passover is about the triumph of freedom,” writes Zelensky on X. “This is exactly what all of Ukraine is fighting for today. I thanked the Jewish community for standing united with us in this struggle – for supporting people, helping communities, and praying for our state.”

On the occasion of Passover, I met with rabbis from Ukrainian cities and representatives of Jewish communities.

Passover is about the triumph of freedom. This is exactly what all of Ukraine is fighting for today. I thanked the Jewish community for standing united with us in this… pic.twitter.com/eyAzmcRR1g

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 6, 2026