JERUSALEM: Following Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's statement that Adolf Hitler may have had some Jewish blood and that the "most fervent" anti-Semites are Jews themselves, Israel summoned the Russian Ambassador.
In a tweet, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said, "Foreign Minister Lavrov's statements are both an unacceptable and offensive statement as well as a horrible historical blunder." "During the Holocaust, Jews did not commit suicide. The most heinous form of anti-Semitism is accusing Jews of being anti-Semitic." According to Russian Times news, Lapid stated that Israel wants an apology and that the Russian Ambassador has been summoned "for a tough chat."Other Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, were outraged by Lavrov's remarks, accusing Russia's top diplomat of exploiting the Holocaust "as a political tool."
Lavrov's statements were also condemned as incorrect and dangerous by the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. Moscow has been silent on the issue. However, Lavrov admitted that one of the goals of Russia's military assault in Ukraine is to "denazify" the country in an interview with Italy's Mediaset news agency on Sunday.
Lavrov responded to a reporter's remark that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish by saying: "I could be mistaken, but I believe Hitler had Jewish ancestors. This is completely meaningless. The most fervent anti-Semites, according to wise Jewish people, are frequently Jews. As we like to say, every family has a black sheep." Earlier in the interview, the Minister mentioned the Azov Battalion in Ukraine, claiming that the fighters have "openly nationalist and Nazi ideas."
He claimed that seized Azov and other battalions have "Nazi emblems on their uniforms and swastika tattoos." They "openly read and promote 'Mein Kampf,'" Lavrov said, referring to Hitler's autobiographical manifesto.
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