CNN Anchor Jake Tapper Says He Gave Ukrainian President Zelensky Matzah for Passover
by Shiryn Ghermezian
CNN anchor Jake Tapper said that before his in-person interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during Passover, he gave the Jewish world leader a box of matzah.
“I don’t think he’s particularly observant, but Zelensky’s Jewish. When I came for the interview I gave him a box of matzah. And he said ‘thanks,'” Tapper, who is also Jewish, said during his guest appearance Monday on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”
Tapper — CNN’s chief Washington correspondent and the co-anchor on “State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash” and “The Lead with Jake Tapper” — was in Ukraine for two weeks in April for an exclusive interview with Zelensky. He also spoke to Colbert about spending Passover in the Eastern European country, saying, “It was the first time I had not had a seder in my entire life. I had a one-man seder. The local Orthodox rabbi – believe it or not, there is a local Orthodox rabbi – gave me a little seder in a box.
He then joked about Orthodox rabbis, “There’s one everywhere. When they land on Mars there’s gonna be a Lubavitcher rabbi [saying] “Welcome!”
During their interview in April at the residential palace in Kyiv, Tapper talked to Zelensky about Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia, and also asked the president if he had a message for Ukrainian Jews and “the message of freedom” as they celebrate Passover.
“I believe the way we fight for freedom is the most important message,” Zelensky replied. “Because you can send a lot of messages with words and they come from different people. But when it comes to action, only a few act on their words, and today I believe Ukrainian people show by their actions that they are fighting and protecting freedom.”
103 House Democrats Back Measure Their Own Whip Said Could Cut Aid to Palestinians
Jewish Advocacy Group Blasts Australian Higher Education Establishment Over Antisemitism Revelations
Violent Antisemitic Attacks Skyrocket Across Canada, Putting 2026 on Track for Record Year
Israeli Tourist Reportedly Refused Service in Athens Amid Rising Anti-Israel Hostility
NYTimes Shareholder Threatens Lawsuit Over Publication’s Alleged Anti-Israel Biased Coverage
History Doesn’t Begin With Hate; It Begins With Silence
Hamas Is Still Using Hospitals as Terror Bases
I Want to Become a Journalist — But I Don’t See Israel Being Treated Fairly on Campus
Rep. Ro Khanna Pressed to Support Oct. 7 in Interview with Pro-Hamas News Outlet
UK Upholds ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan’s Suspension Over Sexual Misconduct Allegations






NYTimes Shareholder Threatens Lawsuit Over Publication’s Alleged Anti-Israel Biased Coverage
103 House Democrats Back Measure Their Own Whip Said Could Cut Aid to Palestinians
I Want to Become a Journalist — But I Don’t See Israel Being Treated Fairly on Campus
Hamas Is Still Using Hospitals as Terror Bases
History Doesn’t Begin With Hate; It Begins With Silence



