Jewish community criticizes Putin's words about Zelensky's "Jewish origin"
Putin said that his "Jewish friends" allegedly called Zelensky "a disgrace to the Jewish people"
The Jewish Confederation of Ukraine, with the participation of Chief Rabbi of Kyiv and Ukraine Yaakov Dov Bleich, issued a statement after Russian dictator Putin's latest remarks against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Source. This was reported by Radio Liberty.
"Vladimir Putin, speaking at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, referring to his "Jewish friends," called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky not a Jew but a "disgrace to the nation" who indulges in neo-Nazism. And he once again emphasized the need for so-called "denazification" in Ukraine. We would like to make the following statements: First. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a leader who has set an example of courage for his people and the world. Second. There is no neo-Nazism in modern Ukraine. Especially at the state level. Third. On the accusation of Ukrainians of Holocaust crimes. We would like to remind you that Ukraine is the fourth largest country in the world in terms of the number of Righteous Among the Nations (people who saved Jews during the Holocaust – ed.) – 2691 people, according to Yad Vashem. According to Ukrainian researchers, there are more than 15,000 Righteous Ukrainians," the statement reads.
Representatives of the Ukrainian Jewish community say that there are many more arguments that refute the narratives of Russian propaganda. As an illustration of this so-called "denazification," the website of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine showed a photo of the Menorah destroyed by Russian shelling at the Drobytsky Yar memorial on the outskirts of Kharkiv.
On June 16, at a meeting of the SPIEF, Putin said that his "Jewish friends" allegedly called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "a disgrace to the Jewish people."
This is not the first time that Putin has drawn parallels between the Nazis, who committed the Holocaust during World War II, and the Ukrainian government, which is headed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a Jew by ethnicity. Putin also calls the "denazification" of Ukraine the goal of a full-scale war, which he launched in February 2022.
Background. In May 2022, Putin had to apologize to Israel's prime minister for the words of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who said that Hitler "was also a Jew" and that "the wise Jewish people say that the biggest anti-Semites are Jews."
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