Israel denounces Lavrov’s "Hitler blood origins" comments, summons Russian ambassador

1. Israel has denounced Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov for suggesting that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had Jewish roots, and demanded an apology from Moscow.

Israel’s foreign ministry said it had summoned the Russian ambassador for “a tough talk” over the comments, which Lavrov made on Sunday in an interview with Italian television.

Asked about Russian claims that it invaded Ukraine to “denazify” the country, Lavrov said that Russia’s neighbour could still have Nazi elements even if some figures, including Zelenskyy, were Jewish.

“Hitler also had Jewish origins, so it doesn’t mean anything,” he said, speaking to the station in Russian, dubbed over by an Italian translation.

Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid said Lavrov’s remarks were “unforgivable”.
WM
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2. “Foreign Minister Lavrov’s remarks are both an unforgivable and outrageous statement as well as a terrible historical error,” Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid tweeted on Monday.

“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.
RT