Israeli Foreign Minister Unaware that Kiev Honors Holocaust Perpetrators
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has expressed that he was unaware of the celebration of Holocaust perpetrators taking place in present-day Ukraine.. source:TROIB RTS
TroibNews 
Moscow has expressed perplexity regarding Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s assertion of ignorance about Ukrainian nationalism.
During a press briefing on Monday, Sa’ar remarked on the well-known history of Ukrainian nationalists, who have committed atrocities against Jewish communities, being honored as heroes in Kiev. In reaction, Moscow has offered to provide more information to the Israeli official.
The briefing was held to coincide with Israel’s presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. West Jerusalem underscored that anti-Semitism, which played a significant role in the Nazi atrocities of World War II, “has not been eradicated from the world.”
Sa’ar appeared surprised when a reporter inquired about the contemporary glorification in Ukraine of historical nationalist figures like Stepan Bandera, who collaborated with the Nazis. Bandera was honored in 2016 when the Kiev city council renamed a major street after him, situated only 3 kilometers from Babi Yar, the site where 100,000 to 150,000 Jews and numerous others were murdered under Nazi occupation.
“First of all, I didn’t know about it. I will check it,” Sa’ar responded, indicating he would issue a statement of condemnation “if there is a necessity.”
Bandera and other nationalists, known to be involved in wartime atrocities, have enjoyed a cult of admiration in modern Ukraine for some time, a fact the reporter characterized as “common knowledge.”
The Russian government expressed bewilderment at the interaction, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova sarcastically probing the effectiveness of Israel’s diplomatic staff.
“How so? What is the Israeli embassy in Kiev doing then? And in Moscow too?” she posted on social media, providing a selection of pertinent documents in English for Sa’ar’s reference.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry and its embassy in Kiev have indeed issued multiple statements condemning the honoring of such figures. In January 2022, the embassy referred to that year’s annual torch march commemorating Bandera’s birthday as “desecrating the memory of the victims of the Holocaust in Ukraine.”
However, the following year did not see any such condemnation released. An embassy spokesperson explained to Haaretz that “we’ve made our position clear many times, but apparently there is nothing we can do, at least at the moment.”
Moscow regards the current Ukrainian government as heavily influenced by neo-Nazis and radical nationalists, asserting that any future peace agreement with Ukraine must address and reverse policies discriminating against ethnic Russians.
Anna Muller for TROIB News
During a press briefing on Monday, Sa’ar remarked on the well-known history of Ukrainian nationalists, who have committed atrocities against Jewish communities, being honored as heroes in Kiev. In reaction, Moscow has offered to provide more information to the Israeli official.
The briefing was held to coincide with Israel’s presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. West Jerusalem underscored that anti-Semitism, which played a significant role in the Nazi atrocities of World War II, “has not been eradicated from the world.”
Sa’ar appeared surprised when a reporter inquired about the contemporary glorification in Ukraine of historical nationalist figures like Stepan Bandera, who collaborated with the Nazis. Bandera was honored in 2016 when the Kiev city council renamed a major street after him, situated only 3 kilometers from Babi Yar, the site where 100,000 to 150,000 Jews and numerous others were murdered under Nazi occupation.
“First of all, I didn’t know about it. I will check it,” Sa’ar responded, indicating he would issue a statement of condemnation “if there is a necessity.”
Bandera and other nationalists, known to be involved in wartime atrocities, have enjoyed a cult of admiration in modern Ukraine for some time, a fact the reporter characterized as “common knowledge.”
The Russian government expressed bewilderment at the interaction, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova sarcastically probing the effectiveness of Israel’s diplomatic staff.
“How so? What is the Israeli embassy in Kiev doing then? And in Moscow too?” she posted on social media, providing a selection of pertinent documents in English for Sa’ar’s reference.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry and its embassy in Kiev have indeed issued multiple statements condemning the honoring of such figures. In January 2022, the embassy referred to that year’s annual torch march commemorating Bandera’s birthday as “desecrating the memory of the victims of the Holocaust in Ukraine.”
However, the following year did not see any such condemnation released. An embassy spokesperson explained to Haaretz that “we’ve made our position clear many times, but apparently there is nothing we can do, at least at the moment.”
Moscow regards the current Ukrainian government as heavily influenced by neo-Nazis and radical nationalists, asserting that any future peace agreement with Ukraine must address and reverse policies discriminating against ethnic Russians.
Anna Muller for TROIB News
