Israel wants apology from Russia over Hitler remark

RT
Mon, 02 May 2022 13:07 UTC

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Russian FM Sergey Lavrov

Israel has summoned the Russian ambassador, after Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that Adolf Hitler may have had some Jewish blood, and that the "most ardent" anti-Semites are Jews themselves. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid tweeted on Monday:

"Foreign Minister Lavrov's remarks are both an unforgivable and outrageous statement as well as a terrible historical error. Jews did not murder themselves in the Holocaust. The lowest level of racism against Jews is to accuse Jews themselves of antisemitism."

Lapid said Israel expects an apology, and that the Russian ambassador was being summoned "for a tough talk."

Other Israeli officials expressed outrage over Lavrov's comments as well, including Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who accused Russia's top diplomat of using the Holocaust "as a political tool." The Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem also denounced Lavrov's words as false and dangerous. Moscow has not commented on the matter.

Speaking to Italy's Mediaset media company on Sunday, Lavrov confirmed that one of the objectives of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine is the "denazification" of the country. A reporter mentioned that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish. Lavrov replied:

"I could be wrong, but Hitler, too, had Jewish blood in him. This means absolutely nothing. Wise Jewish people say the most ardent anti-Semites are usually Jews. Every family has a black sheep, as we like to say."

Earlier in the interview, the minister pointed to Ukraine's Azov Battalion, whose fighters include people with openly nationalist and Nazi views. He said captured fighters from Azov and other units display Nazi symbols on their uniforms and have swastika tattoos. They "openly read and promote 'Mein Kampf,'" Lavrov added, referring to the book by Hitler.

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Israel's ambassador last month over Lapid's "anti-Russian" comments regarding Moscow's actions in Ukraine.

Russia attacked Ukraine in late February, following Kiev's failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow's eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French brokered protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.

The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.

Comment: Russia offers observations the day after Israel crucified Russian FM Lavrov:

Israel supports neo-Nazis in Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow claimed on Tuesday, a day after leaders in Jerusalem lambasted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for claiming Hitler had Jewish origins.

The accusation also came after the Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov to a meeting with Deputy Director-General for Eurasia Gary Koren, and the sides agreed to no longer discuss the matter in public, according to a diplomatic source.

Despite that, the Russian ministry said in a statement:

"Foreign Minister Yair Lapid's comments condemning Lavrov were 'anti-historical' and 'explaining to a large extent why the current Israeli government supports the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv. For a long time now we've been hearing the wise Jewish people say that the biggest antisemites are the Jews themselves.'"

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, in response to Lavrov, relayed his most explicit condemnation of a Russian official since the war on Ukraine began:

"Lies like these are meant to blame the Jews themselves for the most terrible crimes in history, which were committed against them, and thus free the oppressors of the Jews from their responsibility.

"As I've already said, no war today is the Holocaust nor is it like the Holocaust. The use of the Holocaust of the Jewish people as a political battering ram must be stopped immediately."

Israel waves its sword of judgement at other nations, but nary a scratch upon its own bias.