The Ukraine has a new president, comedian Volodymyr Zelensky.  He won in a landslide victory. To make it even more interesting, he has no political experience. Zelensky won the election with a margin of 73.13% compared to the incumbents 24.5% of the vote. Zelensky will be the Ukraine’s first Jewish leader. For centuries, Jews were slaughtered in what is now Ukraine by Cossacks, Nazis, and Russians. During the Holocaust, more Jews were executed in two days at Babi Yar, in Kiev, than in almost any other single Nazi massacre. And today, across Europe, anti-Semitism is on the rise.  Ukraine will be the first country besides Israel to have a Jewish president and prime minister.

The Ukraine has been involved with a war with Russian proxies for the past 5 years. By voting in Zelensky, it shows that the people of the Ukraine are more concerned with the internal menaces rather than the issue with the Russians. Petro O. Poroshenko, Ukraine’s incumbent president, after he cast his own ballot on Sunday said, “that voting for a comedian “is not funny” and could lead to “painful” consequences.”

Mr. Zelensky’s triumph hits back at years of Russian propaganda presenting Ukraine as a failed state dominated by fascists steeped in anti-Semitism. Zelensky is unlike leaders of the U.S. and Europe in the sense that he cares less about immigrants coming in and more about the people of Ukraine leaving for work in Poland or other countries. By electing Zelesnky, it shows how far Ukraine has drifted away from Russia and its listless elections.