Tonight, a cold wet Saturday night, thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets in support of Ukraine. Earlier today, the Ukrainian President, Zelensky, suggested that Israel could act as a mediator with Russia, because Jerusalem is one of the few democratic capitals with good relations with both sides.

As the Ukraine – Russia conflict has brewed, simmered and then boiled over, Israel has found itself in the most delicate of delicate positions. Here are the six reasons why. (By the way, the order of importance is for you to decide afterwards.)

First: Let’s face it. There are still 200,000 Jews living in the Ukraine with its rich legacy of traditions. This includes Zionist history in Odessa and the important burial grounds in Uman.

Second: It is an open secret that Israel’s air force has spent much of the past few years bombing Iranian positions in Syria. As many of these are located near Russian bases, this effort has been maintained (and continues for now) with the tacit agreement of Moscow.

Third: Ukraine is the largest supplier of wheat to the whole of the Middle East, including Israel. This is the core ingredient in staple foods. Prices of the commodity have already leapt upwards on the world markets.

Fourth: Over the past few months, after 15 years of increasing enmity, Turkey has been strengthening its ties with Jerusalem. Wondered why? The are probably many reasons, but just remember why the ports in Crimea and on the southern coast of the Ukraine have historically been so important for Russian monarchs and rulers. Look where the Black Sea emerges in the south. Ooops!

Fifth: Putin has made much of labelling the Ukrainian government as Nazi. Interesting rhetoric. The mother tongue of President Zelensky is Russian. As for his religion, he was born Jewish!

And finally, it is estimated that 25,000 Ukrainians are employed as subcontractors in Israel’s hightech sector. As the CEO of Lemon.io posted on LinkedIn earlier:

We have 40 employees and 100s of Ukrainian developers in our network.

1/Cash.
• we’re paying 2 months worth of salary in advance to our employees
• developers will get payouts 2х more often
• we’ll try to generate enough cash in case banks fail to provide services

2/ Support.
• if anyone has to or volunteers to protect us against the enemy, we will keep their jobs and pay them full salary while they are at war
• those who stay in regions under attack will keep their jobs and get fully paid
• we will relocate those who feel unsafe

3/ Shelter.
In case of a full-scale war and absence of internet/phone connection, we set up an address in a western city, Lviv, where they can get assistance with accommodations.

So far, a vast range of international sporting events featuring Russia have been cancelled. From my perspective, it is not difficult to understand why.