(JTA) — Ukraine’s Jewish president Volodymyr Zelensky has become a global symbol of defiance as his country endures an all-out offensive from Russia.
British lawmakers gave him a standing ovation. Fans have set his speeches to rousing soundtracks. And Jewish supporters have called him a “modern Maccabee,” a reference to the ancient Jews who stood up to a formidable army in the Hanukkah story.
So it only makes sense that he would join the ranks of the public figures immortalized in a bobblehead doll.
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, cofounded by Jewish Illinois native Phil Sklar, has announced a Zelensky bobblehead, and will donate some of the proceeds to Ukraine relief.
In a statement, Sklar said the figurine was intended to “show our support like countless others throughout the country and across the world” and “to help raise funds and awareness for Ukraine.”
RELATED: All of our ongoing Jewish Ukraine coverage
The museum said it will donate $5 from each bobblehead sale to GlobalGiving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. The fund has already raised more than $10 million to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and surrounding areas that are taking in refugees.
The Zelensky bobblehead is dressed in a dark suit and blue tie, standing on a base displaying his name and backed with the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag. The item is currently available for preorder, selling for $30 each plus a flat-rate $8 shipping fee, and are expected to ship late this spring.
Zelensky’s bobblehead joins other prominent Jews at the museum including Moses, Albert Einstein, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandy Koufax.
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