- July 1, 2026
- 1:39 pm
- Israel
On July 2, 2026, a lecture dedicated to Ukraine, its historical role, and how the country found itself at the center of one of the main conflicts of the 21st century will be held in Herzliya.
Venue — the courtyard of “Beit Keynan” / חצר “בית קינן” on Natan Alterman Street 51, Herzliya.
Start — 20:00.
Participation is open to a wide audience, but pre-registration is required.
Register here: https://beit-keynan.inwise.net/020726
The organizers present the evening under the title “אוקראינה חומה ומחדל” — “Ukraine: Wall and Failure”. The registration page also lists the full title of the lecture: “from historical past to becoming an arena of confrontation between Russia and the collective West”. The lecturer is Nino Abesadze, a journalist, commentator on Russia for Channel 12, and former Knesset member.
Why it is important to understand this title correctly
At first glance, the phrase “אוקראינה חומה ומחדל” may seem simple: Ukraine, wall, failure.
But in Hebrew, it is not just a set of words, but a play on one of the important historical formulas of the Zionist movement — “חומה ומגדל”, meaning “wall and tower”.
This was the method of creating Jewish settlements in Eretz-Israel before the declaration of the State of Israel. People would come to a place, often at night, quickly build a tower and a fence, creating a fact of presence on the land.
In the poster, however, the word מגדל / “tower” is replaced with מחדל / “failure”, “omission”, “serious miscalculation”.
It results in a pun: not “wall and tower”, but “wall and failure”.
For the Israeli audience, this sounds stronger than a regular translation. The word מחדל in Hebrew carries a heavy political and social burden. It is often used when talking not just about a mistake, but about a systemic state failure, a miscalculation that led to catastrophic consequences.
Therefore, the title of the lecture immediately raises the question: whose failure is it?
The failure of Russia, which is trying by force to return Ukraine to the imperial orbit?
The failure of the Soviet legacy, which left behind borders, fears, myths, and “potential mines” for future generations?
The failure of the West, which for too long did not want to see the reality of Russian aggression?
Or, more controversially, do the authors of the poster want to present Ukraine itself as part of someone else’s conflict — between Russia and the so-called “collective West”?
That is why such a lecture can be important not only as a cultural event but also as an occasion for a conversation about the language used in Israel to describe Russia’s war against Ukraine.
What the lecture at “Beit Keynan” will be about
According to the organizers’ description, the lecture is supposed to show how Ukraine became one of the key geopolitical centers of the modern world.
The announcement talks about a journey through the history, culture, philosophy, architecture, and politics of the post-Soviet space. A special emphasis is placed on Kyiv — one of the oldest Slavic cities, through whose history it is proposed to understand the broader conflict between Russia, Ukraine, the Soviet legacy, and the modern West.
The organizers also promise a discussion about cities, buildings, monuments, and symbols left from the Russian Empire and the USSR. It is through these traces of the past, according to their plan, that one can see the roots of the conflict that today affects not only Europe but also global politics.
For readers of NAnovosti — News of Israel the Israeli perspective is important here.
Israeli society often views the war in Ukraine through its own concepts of security, borders, memory, repatriation, relations with Russia, the USA, and Europe. Therefore, the Ukrainian theme in Israel is not only “foreign policy”. It is a question of how a country living under constant threat understands the right of another nation to independence, security, and protection from aggression.
Why the formula “Russia against the collective West” raises questions
In the description of the lecture, Ukraine is called an arena of confrontation between Russia and the “מערב הקולקטיבי” — “collective West”.
This wording is not neutral.
The expression “collective West” is widely used in Russian political language, where the war is often presented not as Russian aggression against Ukraine, but as a clash between Russia and the West. In such a framework, Ukraine risks disappearing as an independent subject: not as a state with its own history, army, society, culture, and right to choose, but as a “territory of conflict” between great powers.
This is what makes the poster ambiguous.
On one hand, the lecture can be useful if it truly explains the historical and cultural roots of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the Soviet legacy, imperial myths, and the role of Kyiv in the region’s history.
On the other hand, it is important that the conversation about Ukraine does not turn into a retelling of a scheme convenient for Moscow: as if Ukraine is just a “platform” for the struggle between Russia and the West, and not a country against which Russia is waging war.
Ukraine today is not just a “wall” between someone and someone.
For millions of Ukrainians, it is home.
For Europe, it is a line of defense against new imperial violence.
For Israel, it is a test of the ability to see the difference between aggressor and victim, even when geopolitics seems complex.
Who is Nino Abesadze and why her lecture might be interesting
Nino Abesadze is known in Israel as a journalist, political commentator, and former Knesset member. In the announcement of “Beit Keynan”, she is presented as a commentator on Russia for Channel 12, a former Knesset member, senior lecturer, and researcher of Russian literature and culture.
Such a profile makes the lecture potentially interesting for an audience that wants to understand not only military events but also a deeper layer: how Russian culture, Soviet politics, imperial memory, architecture, and historical myths continue to influence the perception of Ukraine.
For the Israeli public, this is especially important.
Many in Israel were born in the USSR or post-Soviet countries. Many have family ties with Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, the Baltic states. Therefore, the debate about the past here often becomes not an academic conversation, but a personal topic: who and how remembers Kyiv, Odessa, Kharkiv, Lviv, Soviet monuments, the Russian language, the Jewish history of Eastern Europe, and today’s war.
NAnovosti — News of Israel considers it important to follow such events because it is through public lectures, posters, cultural evenings, and urban venues that the language of conversation about Ukraine is formed in Israel.
Where and when
The lecture “אוקראינה חומה ומחדל” will be held on Thursday, July 2, 2026, at 20:00, in the courtyard of “Beit Keynan” in Herzliya.
Address: רחוב נתן אלתרמן 51, הרצליה — Natan Alterman Street 51, Herzliya.
Participation is open to a wide audience, but pre-registration is required.
Register here: https://beit-keynan.inwise.net/020726
The main question to take to this lecture is not only: “How did Ukraine become an arena of war?”
Perhaps it is more important to ask differently: why does Ukraine have to prove again and again that it is not an object of someone else’s history, but an independent country with its own memory, its own voice, and its own future?
