Yair Lapid, Israel’s Foreign Minister, criticized his Russian colleague Sergey Lavrov on Monday for claiming that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler “had Jewish blood” and that Jews are among the worst anti-Semites.
Lavrov made the comments during an interview with Italian television, claiming that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Jewishness did not undermine Russia’s assertions that its invasion of Ukraine was intended to “denazify” the nation.
“So what if Zelenskyy is Jewish. The fact does not negate the Nazi elements in Ukraine. I believe that Hitler also had Jewish blood,” Lavrov said, adding that “some of the worst anti-Semites are Jews.”
“This is an unforgivable and scandalous comment, a terrible historical error and we expect an apology,” Lapid said.
Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel described Lavrov’s comments as “delusional” and said the Russian foreign minister was trying to “justify the terrible things the Russians are doing in Ukraine. The cheapening of the Holocaust is something I’m not willing to accept.”
The Foreign Ministry response came after several other members of the Israeli government condemned the remark.
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