JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has said he has accepted an apology from Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday for controversial remarks about the Holocaust made by Moscow’s top diplomat.
The two leaders spoke on the phone, after which an Israeli statement said Putin had apologized. However, Russia’s statement on the call did not mention an apology. Instead, they say they stress the importance of commemorating the defeat of the Nazis in World War II, which Russia is celebrating on Monday.
Bennett emerged as a potential mediator between Russia and Ukraine shortly after Moscow’s invasion. But that role was called into question this week when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made comments about the Holocaust that were deeply offensive to Jews.
Asked in an interview with an Italian news channel about Russia’s allegations that it invaded Ukraine to “disinfect” the country, Lavrov said Ukraine may still have Nazi elements, even though its president, Vladimir Zelensky, is Jewish.
“In my opinion, Hitler is also of Jewish descent, so that means absolutely nothing. We have been hearing from the Jewish people for some time that the biggest anti-Semites are Jews, “he said, speaking in front of the station in Russian, dubbed with an Italian translation.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who has sharply criticized Russia for the invasion, called Lavrov’s statement “unforgivable and scandalous and a terrible historical mistake.”
“Jews did not commit suicide in the Holocaust,” said Lapid, the son of a Holocaust survivor. “The lowest level of racism against Jews is to accuse Jews themselves of anti-Semitism.
He asked Russia to apologize, and Israel called the Russian ambassador in protest.
Bennett, who is more measured in his criticism of the Russian invasion, also condemned Lavrov’s comments. On Thursday, he said Putin had apologized.
“The prime minister accepted President Putin’s apology for Lavrov’s statement and thanked him for clarifying the president’s attitude toward the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust,” Bennett’s office said in a statement.
Recalling Russia’s deep-rooted account of World War II suffering and heroism, Putin portrayed the war in Ukraine as a struggle against the Nazis, despite having a democratically elected government and a Jewish president whose relatives were killed in the Holocaust.
Israel gained independence after the Holocaust and served as a refuge for Jews around the world. The Holocaust and its remembrance remain central to Israel’s national identity, and last week the country celebrated its annual Holocaust Remembrance Day. The Nazis and their collaborators killed 6 million Jews during World War II.
Israel has tried to maintain ties with Russia despite the war, in part because Russia has a large military presence in neighboring Syria, where Israel routinely strikes at alleged Iranian military targets. Israel and Moscow are coordinating their actions in Syria to avoid conflict.
This paved the way for Bennett to be able to try to mediate between the countries of Ukraine, a role he appears to have resumed this week.
Bennett’s office said he and Putin had discussed plans to evacuate civilians from the besieged steel mine in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. This came after a conversation between Bennett and Zelensky on Wednesday.
Bennett’s statement said Putin “promised to allow the evacuation of civilians, including wounded civilians, through the UN humanitarian corridor and the Red Cross.”
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