8 | MARCH 3 • 2022
in modernity with more active
heat than they ever displayed
in our lifetimes, who should
emerge from the landscape of
our past to stand for freedom,
democracy, selflessness, and
unfathomable bravery but a Jew.
One of our own.
How this came about is as
mysterious to Jews as it prob-
ably is to Putin. He thought
he could march over Ukraine
like the Taliban swept across
Afghanistan in a matter of
days. He saw a young, inexpe-
rienced Jewish boy somehow
accidentally elected to highest
office, and he pounced. After
all, who would have anticipated
the mettle Zelensky has shown?
And who would have thought
his people would love him and
stand behind him so fiercely?
And the rest of the world
has followed suit, taking cour-
age from his elemental style
of leadership. He did not only
galvanize his own countrymen
— and believe me, the concept
of Jews and Ukrainians being
bonded countrymen is diffi-
cult enough to process — but
there can be little doubt that
it impacted Western European
leaders and President Biden to
step up their provision of mil-
itary and humanitarian aid as
well as economic isolation of
Russia.
No one anticipated that the
44-year-old Jewish comedi-
an-turned-politician, a populist
leader born of the same times
that gave us Donald Trump and
Boris Johnson, would transform
into the pillar standing against
the Kremlin, a new kind of Iron
Wall shielding West from East.
He knows how to use social
media to send messages of hope
and resilience. He knows how to
speak to a generation connected
through soundbites, mobile apps
and frank words.
Most importantly, though, he
knows what happens when bul-
lies are allowed to run rough-
shod over their neighbors. He
is the grandchild of a Holocaust
survivor. And who better under-
stands the importance of stand-
ing firm in the face of naked,
unprovoked aggression than the
offspring of survivors?
Zelensky has made us all
proud, Jew and non-Jew alike.
He has given us hope that old
hatreds can be overcome. He
has shown the world the best we
have to offer — shrewd, tough,
honest, selfless. The world’s
knight in shining armor looks
like us. He has shown resolve to
stay and fight, and the Ukrainian
people — his people — have ral-
lied to his battle cry. They have
rallied to the battle cry of a Jew!
The cry of the Holocaust survi-
vors! The cry of Never Again!
I don’t know about you, but I
needed this.
Ellen Ginsberg Simon is an attorney
and compliance professional in Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey. She has
an M.Phil in Modern Middle Eastern
Studies from Oxford University and is
also a graduate of Brown University
and Harvard Law School. From Times
of Israel
ened and deepened the
understanding of the signifi-
cance of U.S. policies, its role
in the world, and the value
and strength of the U.S.
economy and dollar.
I also consider it a privi-
lege to vote in the U.S. Some
ask why, if living overseas,
I should be able, much less
would care, to vote. When
I explain that we never
stopped being Americans,
are required to file (and pay)
taxes, and that it’s a right and
privilege, most get it.
But every privilege also
has its responsibility. Since
living in Israel, I have been
called for jury duty twice.
I am exempt because I live
overseas (though wouldn’t
complain if they wanted to
send me a plane ticket), but
I still have to respond. The
U.S. also imposes compli-
cated bureaucratic standards
that all U.S. citizens living
abroad, earning over a cer-
tain amount, still have to
file taxes in the U.S. even if
we pay more in tax in Israel
than we would in the U.S.
on the same income. We still
have to let the IRS know.
Some people with young
children also get a tax credit,
but you have to file to do so.
Opening a bank account
here as an American requires
extra scrutiny. Israeli banks
ask, covering their assets
literally and figuratively, if
we are U.S. citizens. The last
thing they want to do is cross
the U.S. and its banking sys-
tem. So, they don’t. And it
costs us.
More frustrating is that,
regardless of income,
American citizens have to
file an FBAR if their finan-
cial assets exceed $10,000.
That includes saving
accounts, pensions, bro-
kerage accounts, etc. Even
if people have no current
income, they have to report
total assets. Unless you have
time and know what you’re
doing, you have to pay some-
one to do this. For young
people starting out in their
careers (like my kids), it’s a
burden and expense that’s
hard to justify. It’s almost
something you have to pay
someone to do because with
the bureaucracy, while one
can file their own taxes and
the like, making a mistake
would create even worse
problems.
It’s disappointing that my
kids don’t appreciate the
blessings of being American
the same as I do. Forget that
they don’t know about many
American cultural and his-
torical pillars (shockingly
not even Woodstock), they
just don’t look that far west.
It’s disappointing that they
don’t care that much, and it’s
disappointing that the U.S.
makes being a citizen over-
seas that much of a financial
burden. Nobody’s given up
their citizenship yet, but they
have a hard time rationaliz-
ing paying what’s for them a
lot of money just to maintain
their “membership” and risk
something criminal for not
doing so. My oldest daughter
has two children and, even
though they are eligible,
they’re not registered as
Americans.
But there’s always a catch.
You can’t just burn or give
up your passport and say, no
thank you. Giving up U.S.
citizenship is a costly bureau-
cratic process. It costs about
$2,500 per person (a month’s
salary for some, before taxes),
as well as an “exit” tax which
TIME TO BURN MY PASSPORT? continued from page 4
THE HERO WE DIDN’T KNOW WE NEEDED continued from page 6
PURELY COMMENTARY
“… WHO SHOULD EMERGE FROM
THE LANDSCAPE OF OUR PAST TO
STAND FOR FREEDOM, DEMOCRACY,
SELFLESSNESS AND UNFATHOMABLE
BRAVERY BUT A JEW. ONE OF OUR OWN.”