The influential Israeli daily newspaper The Jerusalem Post recognized the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky as the most influential Jew of 2022. This is stated on the publication's website.
In total, the traditional annual rating includes 50 people. This year, the Prime Minister of Israel Yair Lapid took second place, and the head of the French government, Elizabeth Bourne, took third place.
"Not many political leaders have risen to the status of icons, but one of them this year is the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky," notes The Jerusalem Post.
The Jerusalem Post writes that Zelensky is now one of the most influential people in the world. At the same time, the publication notes that even such influence did not force Israel to help Ukraine more because of the presence of the Russian army in Syria and the plight of Jews in Russia.
And yet, journalists say that Zelensky has caused such changes in the world order, which have not been seen since the fall of the "Iron Curtain": he has turned almost the entire Western world against Russia and its President Vladimir Putin.
"His resilience and bravery have become legendary," the publication believes.
Journalists emphasize that, although Zelensky was born in a Jewish family, he himself does not attach any special importance to this, and his children are baptized. However, the Jewish origin of the Ukrainian president gained additional meaning after the attack by Russia and the statements of its propagandists about the need to "denazify" Ukraine.
"Today, Zelensky is one of the most influential people in the world today, period â not just the worldâs most influential Jew," states The Jerusalem Post.