In a conversation with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for allegations by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Adolf Hitler was of Jewish descent. This is stated in a statement by Bennett’s office, quoted by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

The statement added that Bennett accepted Putin’s apology for Lavrov’s remarks and thanked him for clarifying the Russian president’s attitude toward the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust.

The two leaders also stressed the importance of May 9, the day of victory over Nazi Germany, for Israelis and Russians, as well as the memory of the victims of the war and the Holocaust.

Sergei Lavrov gave an extensive interview to the Italian TV channel Mediaset, in which he talked a lot about Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The presenter recalled the words of Volodymyr Zelensky that the “denazification” declared by the Kremlin at the beginning of the war does not make sense, because there are no Nazis in Ukraine, and he is a Jew.

In response, Lavrov said: “I heard him say that we will not even discuss demilitarization and denazification in negotiations.”

“He argues that there can be a nation if he is a Jew. I may be wrong, but Hitler also had Jewish blood. It means absolutely nothing. The wise Jewish people say that the most ardent anti-Semites are usually Jews.” not without a freak, “as we say,” said Sergei Lavrov, quoted by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

At first, Israel reacted angrily to Lavrov’s statement that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler “had Jewish blood” and that “the fiercest anti-Semites are usually Jews.”

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian ambassador for “clarification” and demanded an apology.

These comments were also widely condemned in Israeli politics and the press.

The Jerusalem Post wrote in an analytical article that this means that Israel can no longer remain neutral about the war in Ukraine.

Jerusalem’s plans to “somehow stay out of the war” have now been canceled, and Israel must support Ukraine, the authors said.

Haaretz, in turn, wrote that Lavrov’s “grotesque statements” about Hitler, made to justify Russian aggression, ignite anti-Semitic fire in the world. The publication quotes the American Jewish Committee: “We have repeatedly talked about the need for denazification – in Moscow, not in Kiev.”

The newspaper also quoted Israeli Health Minister and Meretz party leader Nitsan Horowitz: “There is no neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine. Zelensky is not a Nazi. And so, Israel supports Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity before a brutal Russian invasion.”

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quite inflated, commenting on Lavrov’s statements. She said Israeli citizens were fighting as part of Azov in Mariupol.

“Still, I say that now they hardly want to hear the same politicians in Israel who have inflated the information campaign. Maybe they will be interested. In Ukraine, in fact, Israeli mercenaries are also side by side with Azov militants.” – Zakharova said in an interview with Radio Sputnik.

In the midst of the scandal, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused Israel of “supporting the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv” and mentioned “tragic examples of Jewish cooperation with the Nazis.”

Russia’s chief rabbi, Berl Lazar, was shocked by Russian Minister Sergei Lavrov’s statements that “Jews are usually the fiercest anti-Semites,” and urged him to publicly apologize for the words.

During a conversation with Bennett on May 5, Putin mentioned Mariupol and said that Russia was ready to ensure the evacuation of civilians from Azovstal. He once again called on Kyiv to order Ukrainian defenders to lay down their arms.

Putin said that Russian troops were ready to offer a safe exit to civilians who remained at the plant. According to Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol, there are still about 200 civilians there.

These statements by Putin came amid reports that the assault on Azovstal was continuing and that the Russian military was continuing its shelling.

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