Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologised for antisemitic comments made by his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Naftali Bennett’s office said on Thursday.
Putin apologised for the remarks during a call with Bennett to congratulate the PM on Israel’s 74th Independence Day. The statement said that both leaders discussed Lavrov’s remarks and Bennett “accepted President Putin’s apology” and “thanked him for clarifying his attitude towards the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust.”
While a release by the Kremlin did not directly state that Putin apologised, it mentioned that he understands the plight of the Jews during World War II. “The President of Russia recalled that of the six million Jews tortured in ghettoes and death camps and killed by the Nazis during punitive operations, 40 per cent were Soviet citizens, and asked Naftali Bennett to convey wishes of good health and wellbeing to the war veterans in Israel,” the statement read.
Putin made the remarks after Bennett told him that Israel and Russia “carefully preserve the historical truth about the events of those years and honour the memory of all the fallen, including the victims of the Holocaust.”
I personally believe both are likely to be true: Putin likely did apologize, which I think was a perquisite for a call, and Bennett did pander to the Russian view on WWII
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) May 5, 2022
Putin’s apology follows inflammatory comments made by Lavrov on Sunday on the Italian channel Rete 4, wherein he claimed that Adolf Hitler, who murdered over six million Jews during World War II, had Jewish heritage. When questioned about Russia’s intent to “denazify Ukraine” despite President Volodymyr Zelensky being Jewish, Lavrov said, “When they say ‘What sort of nazification is this if we are Jews,’ well, I think that Hitler also had Jewish origins, so it means nothing.”
“For a long time now, we’ve been hearing the wise Jewish people say that the biggest anti-Semites are the Jews themselves,” he added.
Following Lavrov’s comments, Israel slammed Russia for spreading “an unforgivable falsehood that debased the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust” and summoned Russia’s ambassador. In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Naftali Bennett said, “I view with utmost severity the Russian Foreign Minister’s statement,” denouncing Lavrov’s remarks as “untrue” and his intentions as “wrong.”
“The goal of such lies is to accuse the Jews themselves of the most awful crimes in history, which were perpetrated against them, and thereby absolve Israel’s enemies of responsibility,” he further remarked. Bennett stated that no contemporary war can be compared to Holocaust, adding, “The use of the Holocaust of the Jewish people as a political tool must cease immediately.”
One link is Andriy Parubiy's meeting with the Knesset president. Parubiy co-founded the Social-National Party of Ukraine, which had neo-fascist views, but Parubiy severed ties with its successor Svoboda in 2004.
— Samuel Ramani (@SamRamani2) May 4, 2022
Since 2004, he has been a center-right politician in Ukraine pic.twitter.com/sncryJ1dHd
Maria Zakharova's "Israeli mercenaries" fighting with Azov comment is a reference to Israeli foreign fighters for Ukraine.
— Samuel Ramani (@SamRamani2) May 4, 2022
These fighters are volunteers and this falls into Russia's propaganda trap of calling the entire Ukrainian army Nazihttps://t.co/9qkKtP9Nc2
This deleted Azov Battalion video is also being used as proof of Israel-Nazi collusion
— Samuel Ramani (@SamRamani2) May 4, 2022
This video is from 2019, so not from the current war, and merely shows an Azov fighter using Tavor style rifles. Again Israel did not supply them directly https://t.co/Qca2zq8GYu
Moreover, the Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that Israeli mercenaries are fighting alongside the far-right Ukrainian Azov battalion. Russian media outlets have also accused Israel of supporting neo-Nazis in Ukraine after videos surfaced of Azov battalion members Israeli weapons. However, it appears that these weapons were not directly supplied to the Azov battalion by Israel.
Tensions between both sides escalated after a report by Haaretz indicated that Israel is considering providing Ukraine with sophisticated weaponry, including the Iron Dome anti-missile system.
In this respect, Putin’s apology comes as a relief for both sides, as Israel has indicated that maintaining normal relations with Russia is key to its operations against Iranian targets in Syria. During the talk, Bennett presented Putin with an evacuation plan for rescuing civilians who are still stuck at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. The Kremlin said that “the Russian military is ready to ensure the safe exit of civilians.”
A Putin apology would be a major sign that he knows he needs all the friends he can get.
— Amy Spiro (@AmySpiro) May 5, 2022
But it would be quite a 180 from the Russian Foreign Ministry days ago blaming Jews for cooperating with Nazis and taking part in "absolutely monstrous deeds.”https://t.co/bVYDTXojMz
“As for the remaining militants at the Azovstal plant, the Kyiv authorities should order them to lay down arms,” it added.
Putin also sent a letter to Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Thursday congratulating him on the occasion of Israel’s 74th Independence Day. “The relations between the two countries, which are based on friendship and mutual respect, will continue to grow for the benefit of our people and the security of the Middle East,” Putin wrote in the letter.