Moscow’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday issued a statement claiming that “Israel supports the Neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine,” in an escalation of the conflict between Russia and Israel after Foreign Minister Yair Lapid slammed Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for his comment that “Hitler had Jewish blood.”
The statement from the Russian ministry said that Lapid’s comments are “anti-historical” and “explains to a large extent why the current Israeli government supports the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv.”
The statement continued to say that “the most extreme antisemitism” takes place in Ukraine and “Zelensky hides behind his origins” while “he consorts with Neo-Nazis, the heirs of his people’s murderers.”
The statement added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Jewish identity does not preclude Ukraine from being “governed by neo-Nazis.”
“Antisemitism in everyday life and in politics [in Ukraine] has not stopped and on the contrary is nurtured,” the statement said.
Lapid on Monday excoriated Lavrov for his comments and summoned Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov for a “clarification discussion.” Lavrov had also stated that “some of the worst antisemites are Jews.”
Western leaders also denounced Lavrov’s comments, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who said his “friend Yair Lapid put it perfectly.”
“It is incumbent on the world to speak out against such vile, dangerous rhetoric and support our Ukrainian partners in the face of the Kremlin’s vicious assault,” Blinken stated.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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11 Responses
There is nothing implausible about Lavrov’s claims. He is 100% correct that the Jews themselves say that the worst antisemites are Jews — whether that is actually true or not, we do say it and believe it. We even use an expression taken out of context from a passuk, to express what we perceive to be this eternal truth: מהרסייך ומחריבייך ממך יצאו.
So the fact that Zelensky is a Jew by birth would not prevent him from being an antisemite, and it certainly doesn’t prevent him from merely consorting and collaborating with antisemites. Nor would any hypothetical Jewish ancestry have prevented Hitler from doing what he did; whether he actually had any is irrelevant to Lavrov’s point.
What we do know is that the Ukranians have a centuries-long history of being Jew-killers. Not just in the Holocaust; if it were just that we could say it was a one-time event, and they are no worse than the Germans. But no, there has not been a time in known history when they were NOT our enemies, so it’s implausible to suppose they’ve suddenly reformed now.
Take the Russian Civil War, for instance. The major factions were the Reds, the Whites, and the Greens. (The other colors were such minor players that most people who lived through the war never heard of them.) From the Jews’ perspective the difference between these three was simple: The Reds didn’t kill Jews, the Whites sometimes did, if they felt like it, but the Greens always did, and would go out of their way to do so, and do their best not to leave any Jew alive.
The Russians have always been vicious anti Semites, nothing has changed but their methods
Lavrov is correct..Lapid is a low life.
What does having a Jewish grandmother have to do, with, being a decent human being?
Only the Nazis used to judge the quality of people by, “which nationality were you born into?”.
what we are witnessing is the results of a regime of murderous crooks and thieves who shut down every independent source of information and news. calling the war a “war” gets you 14 years in Jail.. Orwellian..
If you do this long enough you start to believe your own lies and start making the most bizarre and nonsensical proclamation. Lavrov is a fine and shining example of just that.
The simple fact of the matter is that the far right only won 2% of the vote in Ukraine’s last election… so yes Neo Nazis are a very smal and marginilaised group in Ukraine, even smaller than the far right in the USA
nobody would justify a brutal war against the USA, destroying cities and killing thousands of civilians just because there are some far right nutcases in the USA…
I would guess that the Russians put out this ridiculous statement as a pretext for creating a diplomatic rift with Israel, and Israel’s predictable response played into their plan perfectly. Now that Russian-US relations can only be characterized as non-existent, Russia feels no need to deal with Israel anymore and would prefer to be free to do what they want in the Middle East.
We should end this Nazi talk and focus on the inhumane murders of innocent civilians going on today!
The Zionists get very unnerved when people talk about Jews and Nazis due to, of course, the Zionists evil actions and inaction during the Holocaust.
As well, since Zionism is anti-Jewish to the core, from ideology at the top and all the way down from there, any protests by the idolatrous Zionist State’s leaders are also likely anti-Jewish.
@Milhouse The Reds didn’t kill Jews because they were Jews (at least the leaders disproportionately were). Which is why the other groups killed Jews.
Israel got baited and obviously fell for it.
A strong response to Lavarov hateful words should have only come from Jewish NGOs such as Yad Vashem, ADL, etc.
Israel needs Russia as a RespOrg so long as they got their bases and hands in Syria and elsewhere in the middle East. Incredibly stupid to burn that bridge of diplomatic communication channel.
Chanania, Jews were disproportionately represented among the Bolsheviks, but the majority were always goyim. And the Red soldiers were certainly mostly goyim.