Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a joint news conference with Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh following their talks in Moscow, Russia April 27, 2022. Yuri Kochetkov/Pool via REUTERS
JERUSALEM 鈥� 聽Israel denounced on Monday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for suggesting that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had Jewish roots, and demanded an apology from Moscow.
Israeli Foreign Ministry Yair Lapid said the Russian ambassador would be summoned for 鈥渁 tough talk鈥� over the comments, which Lavrov made on Sunday in an interview with Italian television.
鈥淚t is an unforgivable, scandalous statement, a terrible historical mistake, and we expect an apology,鈥� Lapid told the YNet news website.
There was no immediate comment from the Russian embassy.
During his interview with Italy鈥檚 Rete 4 channel, Lavrov was asked how Russia could claim that it needed to 鈥渄enazify鈥� Ukraine when the country鈥檚 president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, was Jewish.
鈥淲hen they say 鈥榃hat sort of nazification is this if we are Jews鈥�, well I think that Hitler also had Jewish origins, so it means nothing,鈥� Lavrov said, speaking through an Italian interpreter.
鈥淔or a long time now we鈥檝e been hearing the wise Jewish people say that the biggest anti-Semites are the Jews themselves,鈥� he added.
Dani Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem, Israel鈥檚 memorial to the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust, called Lavrov鈥檚 remarks 鈥渁n insult and a severe blow to the victims of the real Nazism鈥�.
Speaking on Israel鈥檚 Kan radio, Dayan said Lavrov was spreading 鈥渁n antisemitic conspiracy theory with no basis in fact鈥�.
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