Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid denounced the “scandalous, unforgivable and a horrible historical error” of his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, who had claimed that Hitler “had Jewish blood”.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Monday slammed his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, who said Hitler “had Jewish blood” and summoned the Russian ambassador for “clarifications”.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the Jewish state has tried to maintain a delicate balance between kyiv and Moscow, but Mr. Lavrov’s comments on an Italian channel on Sunday sparked outrage.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr “Zelensky makes this argument: how can Nazism be present (in Ukraine) if he himself is Jewish,” said Mr. Lavrov, whose remarks were transcribed on the site of his ministry.
And to add: “I could be wrong, but Hitler also had Jewish blood”.
To read : Boris Romantschenko, survivor of the Nazi camps, killed by a Russian strike in Kharkiv
“Unfounded, delusional and dangerous remarks”
“Minister Lavrov’s remarks are at the same time scandalous, unforgivable and a horrible historical error”, condemned in a brief press release Yaïr Lapid. He said the Russian ambassador to Israel had been summoned for “clarifications”.
The president of Yad Vachem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, Dani Dayan, also condemned Lavrov’s statements, saying they were “baseless, delusional and dangerous remarks that deserve condemnation”.
In a speech at the end of March to elected members of the Israeli Parliament, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Israel to “make a choice” by supporting Ukraine against Russia and asked the Jewish state to provide it with weapons.
Israel has notably supplied protective equipment to Ukraine but has not recently supplied the country with weapons, Israeli officials said.