By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – The Israeli anti-fascist movement on Thursday has called on Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar to clearly state his position on Ukraine’s glorification of Ukrainian Nazi criminals, according to a letter by the movement’s leader, Dmitry Trapirov, obtained by Sputnik.
“The Israeli anti-fascist movement expresses deep outrage that you have not yet articulated a clear public stance regarding the policy of Ukrainian authorities of glorifying Nazi criminals – those who directly participated in the mass extermination of the Jewish population during the Great Patriotic War,” the letter read.
Israeli foreign minister said he was unaware of Ukraine’s nationwide-scale glorification of Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera or the demolition of Red Army soldiers’ monuments, promising to inquire and condemn if necessary.
He has not revisited this matter, including during his July visit to Kiev. Saar is one of the few Israeli government officials to publicly criticize Russia over the Ukraine conflict
“We know that during your visit to Ukraine, you walked through streets named after these criminals, leading to sites of mass executions of Jews, and you did not deem it necessary to make a single statement or show any act of solidarity with the memory of the victims,” Trapirov said.
This approach does not serve the interests of the Jewish state, Trapirov said, adding that a breakdown in dialogue with Russia could lead to strategic losses for Israel and a weakening of its position on the international arena.
“Such a choice of silence and one-sided criticism raises serious questions for us: does it not undermine the moral foundations of Israeli diplomacy and harm the historical memory of the Jewish people?” Trapirov said.
In March, Russian newspaper Izvestia reported that the Israeli Foreign Ministry restricted the work of Izvestia journalist Nikita Kulyukhin after he asked Gideon Saar about the possibility of Israel condemning Ukraine for praising Nazi collaborators during the Holocaust.
