JERUSALEM, Israel – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky evoked the Holocaust in a virtual address to Israel’s parliament on Sunday and urged the Jewish state to take a stronger stand against Russia.
In an emotional appeal over Zoom, Zelensky accused Moscow of trying to carry out its own “Final Solution” against the Ukrainian people – the term the Nazis used for its genocide against the Jewish people.
“You remember it and will never forget it for sure,” he said. “But you should hear what is coming from Moscow now. They are saying the same words now: ‘final solution.’ But this time it’s about us, about the Ukrainian question.”
Zelensky, who is Jewish, noted that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on Feb 24, the same day the Nazi Party was founded in Germany in 1920.
Zelensky said, “102 years later, on February 24, a criminal order was issued to launch a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The invasion, which has claimed thousands of lives, has left millions homeless. Made them exiles.”
“This Russian invasion of Ukraine is not just a military operation, as Moscow claims. This is a large-scale and treacherous war aimed at destroying our people. Destroying our children, our families. Our state. Our cities. Our communities. Our culture. And everything that makes Ukrainians Ukrainians,” Zelensky added.
The president noted the Russian attack in Kyiv that damaged Babyn Yar, the site where the Nazis murdered nearly 34,000 Jews in Ukraine’s capital in 1941.
“The people of Israel, you saw how Russian rockets hit Babi Yar. You know what this place means, where the victims of the Holocaust are buried,” he said.
Zelensky called on Israel, which has emerged as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia, to pick a side in the war.
“One can ask for a long time why we can’t accept weapons from you or why Israel didn’t impose sanctions against Russia, why you are not putting pressure on Russian business,” he said. “It is your choice, dear brothers and sisters.”
Zelensky added, “You can mediate between countries but not between good and evil…I could ask why we are not receive protection from Israel. Why are we not getting your Iron Dome that would protect the Jews of Ukraine? Why hasn’t Israel joined the sanction régime against Russia?”
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Israel is one of the few countries in the world to have strong relations with both Russia and Ukraine and is attempting to walk a diplomatic tightrope between the two nations. Both nations have significant Jewish populations, and Israel collaborates with Russia on military operations in Syria.
While Israel’s foreign minister harshly condemned Russia’s invasion, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has been much more restrained with his criticism in an attempt to maintain neutrality. Bennett made a surprise visit to Moscow on March 5 and has spoken directly to Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone numerous times.
Israel has also sent tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and is set to open a field hospital there this week. But it has rejected requests by Kyiv to send military aid or sanction Russia and its oligarchs – some of whom are Jewish.
Zelensky’s references to the Holocaust drew angry reactions from Israeli leaders.
Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust memorial, harshly criticized Zelenskyy, without explicitly naming him.
“Propagandist discourse accompanying the current hostilities is saturated with irresponsible statements and completely inaccurate comparisons with Nazi ideology and actions before and during the Holocaust,” it said.
“Yad Vashem condemns this trivialization and distortion of the historical facts of the Holocaust.”
Yad Vashem has also condemned Putin’s attempts to characterize Ukrainians as neo-Nazis to justify his invasion.
MK Yuval Steinitz of the Likud Party said Zelensky’s remarks bordered on “Holocaust denial.”
MK Mossi Raz of the Meretz Party also “did not like the comparison to the Holocaust” and said the Ukrainian people are experiencing “nothing like” what the Jews went through in World War II.
However, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, whose late father was a Holocaust survivor, praised Zelensky.
“We will continue to assist the Ukrainian people as much as we can and we will never turn our backs to the plight of people who know the horrors of war,” Lapid said.
The Israeli public has largely been supportive of Ukraine. Thousands gathered in Tel Aviv’s central square to watch Zelensky’s speech and wave the Ukrainian flag.
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