Lavrov's anti-Semitic comments tip Israeli scales in favour of Ukraine

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February, the Israeli government has sought to maintain a neutral stance in order to avoid a direct clash with Russia. For Jerusalem, relations with Moscow are crucial because of Israeli interests in Syria and the wider region. For this reason, during the first weeks of the war, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett presented himself as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia and even met personally with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In this regard, and with the aim of preserving delicate ties with Moscow, Bennett urged his ministers not to comment directly on the issue and avoided naming Russia directly. On the other hand, Jerusalem began providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine during the first weeks of the invasion. 

However, recent developments in Ukraine, and in particular statements by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, have undermined Jerusalem's attempts to remain neutral in the conflict. The head of Russian diplomacy claimed that Hitler had "Jewish blood" during an interview on the Italian channel Mediaset, a comment that has provoked anger in Israel, both politically and socially. 

Italian television asked Lavrov to explain how Russia could base its "special military operation" on the "denazification" of Ukraine when the country's president, Volodimir Zelensky, is Jewish. The Russian diplomat replied that this "meant nothing at all" as "Hitler also had Jewish blood". "We have long heard Jewish sages say that the greatest anti-Semites are precisely the Jews," he added. 

Lavrov's remarks have been roundly rejected by the Israeli government and the Israeli people. In response, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has held a "tough talk" with the Russian ambassador to the country, Anatoly Viktorov, after Jerusalem called a meeting with him. As The Times of Israel reports, Lapid offered no further details about the meeting, although he did stress that it is "unforgivable to blame the Jews for their own Holocaust". "Hitler was not a Jew and Jews did not murder my grandfather in Mauthausen. The Nazis did, and all these comparisons with the Nazis are unforgivable and infuriating," the minister said on Israeli public radio. 

Lapid also again called on Moscow to apologise to the Jewish people "in memory of those who were murdered" and urged his Russian counterpart to "read a history book" instead of spreading "false anti-Semitic rumours". Earlier, the Israeli chief diplomat wrote on his Twitter account that accusing Jews themselves of anti-Semitism is "the lowest level of racism against Jews". The Holocaust History Museum, Yad Vashem, has also condemned Lavrov's comments, calling them "absurd, delusional and dangerous".

The prime minister's statements have been along the same lines. Bennett has condemned Lavrov's claims, stressing that these "lies are aimed at blaming the Jews themselves for the most terrible crimes in history, which were committed against them, and thus freeing the oppressors of the Jews of their responsibility". The Israeli leader also called for an end to the use of the Holocaust as a political tool. "As I have already said, no war today is the Holocaust or anything like it," he stressed.

A few days ago, on the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance and Heroism Day (Yom Hashoah), Bennett condemned the comparisons with the Jewish genocide that are currently being made in relation to the events in Ukraine; recalling that even today's wars "are not the Holocaust and are not comparable". "No event in history, however cruel, compares with the destruction of the Jews of Europe at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators," he said.

This is not the first time Bennett has expressed himself in this way. The Israeli leader also expressed his displeasure at the comparisons between the situation in Ukraine and the Holocaust in Zelensky's speech to the Israeli parliament. Other Knesset lawmakers also recalled that the Holocaust "was not a war". 

However, Lavrov's statements go beyond mere comparisons and mark a turning point in Israel's role in the Ukrainian war. In Lapid's words, the Russian minister's assertions have crossed "boundaries". "Israel was doing its best to maintain good relations with Russia, but there is a line, and that line has been crossed," he said.

Zelensky has also spoken out against these statements, saying that "such an anti-Semitic expression means that all the lessons of the Second World War have been forgotten". The Ukrainian president also recalled Russian bombings of Holocaust memorials in Kiev and Kharkov and again pressed Israel to take a stronger stance against Russia. "The question is, will the Israeli ambassador stay in Moscow knowing his new position, will relations with Russia continue as usual?" he reflected. 

Other presidents and politicians, such as Antony Blinken, Justin Trudeau and Mario Draghi, have also condemned Lavrov's words. In Italy, the Mediaset channel, a media outlet linked to former president Silvio Berlusconi, has also been criticised for acting as a "sounding board for Russian propaganda".

For weeks now, however, Israel's language has become tougher on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, provoking tensions between Jerusalem and Moscow. The Israeli executive "strongly condemned" the "war crimes" committed in Bucha and consequently voted to suspend Moscow from the UN Human Rights Council. According to Lapid, the "killing of innocent civilians" was the reason for Israel's decision. Russia, accustomed to a 'softer' stance from Jerusalem on this issue, dismissed Lapid's comments as "regrettable and anti-Russian". Similarly, Lavrov's ministry said it had taken note of the Israeli diplomat's "aggressive statement". 

Moscow also used the occasion to bring up the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the words of the Russian Foreign Ministry, 'there was a poorly camouflaged attempt to take advantage of the situation in Ukraine to distract the attention of the international community' from the Middle East conflict, according to the TASS news agency. The Kremlin also condemned "the illegal occupation and creeping annexation" of the West Bank and the blockade of the Gaza Strip. "The longest occupation in post-war world history is being carried out with the tacit connivance of the leading Western countries and the real support of the United States," the statement explained. In this regard, President Vladimir Putin himself has also criticised Israeli security measures at the Al Aqsa mosque during a phone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reports. 

Lapid, for his part, has not "ruled out" the possibility that Lavrov's anti-Semitic comments were in response to his own statements accusing Russia of war crimes.

Jerusalem's decision to supply defence equipment to Kiev has also been a relevant point in the latest controversies between Israel and Russia. The Israeli Defence Ministry announced the shipment of helmets and bullet-proof waistcoats to Ukrainian emergency services. Benny Gantz's Ministry emphasised that this aid would not go to the Ukrainian army. Even so, Russia's ambassador to Israel, Viktorov, warned that, should such material reach Ukraine, his country would respond "accordingly".

Gantz's decision has completely changed Israeli policy towards Ukraine. Until now, Jerusalem had avoided sending defensive material despite multiple requests from the Ukrainian authorities. But despite the Defence Ministry's announcement, an Israeli diplomatic official admitted to Haaretz that Israel is not considering sending offensive weapons or advanced defensive technology. Alternatively, it will 'try to find' equipment that can be sent without provoking a crisis with Russia.

Ties between Israel and Russia have also cooled recently due to Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko's decision to rename some streets in the capital. The former Ukrainian boxer thus seeks to remove the city's references to Russia or Belarus. As a proposal, the Israeli ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, has put forward the idea of renaming streets and other places in Kiev after Ukrainians recognised by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.   

Predictably, Moscow's reaction was swift. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that the proposed new names for Kiev streets "may appear next to the names of pseudo-heroes who were directly responsible for the deaths of civilians during World War II, including thousands of Jews". Zakharova also described this exchange of ideas between Klitschko and Brodsky as "flirting" between Israel and the "current regime in Kiev".

Despite the current controversies and strong anger with Russia over Lavrov's remarks, Israel must still guard its relations with Moscow in order to protect its interests in the region, particularly in Syria, where the two countries maintain a delicate balance. As Israeli journalist Herb Keinon writes in The Jerusalem Post, the Israeli government 'must still be cautious in its legitimate anger over Lavrov's comments and in its increasingly open stance towards Ukraine', since, 'Russia still has the capacity, through its actions in Syria, to severely complicate matters for Jerusalem'.

However, Israel must also stand firm with "the democratic West and the free world". The journalist believes that recent events have caused "a crumbling" of Israel's policy of neutrality, a policy that, since the beginning of the war, "was difficult to maintain".

Ksenia Svetlova, a former member of the Israeli Knesset and a Russian immigrant to Israel, agrees. Svetlova stresses to The Washington Post that "Israel has a problem: at the end of the day you can't dance at both weddings". However, despite recent events, the Israeli politician believes that even after "these problematic comments", Israel will not "suddenly" change its policy.

On the Russian side, Fyodor Lukyanov, chairman of a Kremlin advisory board on foreign and defence policy, told the US newspaper, there is also "no desire to worsen relations with Israel".

Lavrov's inflammatory remarks mark a turning point in Jerusalem's stance on Ukraine. The Russian diplomat's anti-Semitism tilts the Israeli balance in Ukraine's favour, and the government has not ruled out "the possibility of a further deterioration of ties as a result of the incident", officials told Israeli media outlet Channel 12.