FILE PHOTO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a news conference after his talks with Bahrain鈥檚 Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani in Moscow, Russia, April 7, 2022. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
JERUSALEM 鈥� Israel denounced Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday for suggesting that the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had Jewish origins, saying his comments were anti-Semitic and dangerous.
Israeli Foreign Ministry Yair Lapid said the Russian ambassador would be summoned for 鈥渁 tough talk鈥� over the assertion, 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 an interview with Italy鈥檚 Rete 4 channel, Lavrov was asked how Russia could say 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.
Israel has expressed repeated support for Ukraine. But wary of straining relations with Russia, a powerbroker in neighboring Syria, it initially avoided direct criticism of Moscow and has not enforced formal sanctions on Russian oligarchs.
Last month, Lapid accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine, and Israel agreed to supply helmets and vests to Ukrainian rescue services, signaling a shift in its position on providing such equipment.
Dani Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem, Israel鈥檚 memorial to the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust, said the Russian minister鈥檚 remarks were 鈥渁n insult and a severe blow to the victims of the real Nazism鈥�.
Speaking on Kan radio, Dayan said Lavrov was spreading 鈥渁n anti-Semitic conspiracy theory with no basis in fact鈥�.
The identity of one of Hitler鈥檚 grandfathers is not known but there has been some speculation, never backed up by any evidence, that he might have been a Jew.
Lapid said that to claim Hitler was of Jewish descent was like saying Jews had killed themselves, adding that accusing Jews of being anti-Semites was 鈥渢he lowest level of racism鈥�.
He also dismissed Lavrov鈥檚 claim that pro-Nazi elements held sway over the Ukrainian government and military.
鈥淭he Ukrainians aren鈥檛 Nazis. Only the Nazis were Nazis and only they dealt with the systematic destruction of the Jewish people,鈥� said Lapid, whose grandfather died in the Holocaust.
The Ukrainian president has also run into flak in Israel by looking to draw analogies between the conflict in his country and World War Two.
In an address to the Israeli parliament in March, Zelenskiy compared the Russian offensive in Ukraine to Nazi Germany鈥檚 extermination of European Jewry during World War Two.
Yad Vashem called his comments 鈥渋rresponsible,鈥� saying they trivialized the historical facts of the Holocaust.
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Israel denounces Lavrov鈥檚 Hitler comments, summons Russian ambassador