Israeli anger at Russian foreign minister’s ‘Hitler had Jewish origins’ slur
Sergei Lavrov told Italian television over the weekend that he believed the Nazi dictator who slaughtered six million Jews had Jewish origins, a claim branded "absurd, delusional".
Michael Daventry is Jewish News’s foreign and broadcast editor
Israel has used its strongest language yet to condemn Russia after its foreign minister claimed in a television interview that Adolf Hitler was Jewish.
Sergei Lavrov made the remark after he was asked by Italian television network TgCom24 how Ukraine’s Jewish president Volodymyr Zelensky could be overseeing a Nazi regime, as the Kremlin has repeatedly claimed without evidence.
Lavrov replied: “So when they say ‘How can Nazification exist if we’re Jewish?’, in my opinion, Hitler also had Jewish origins, so it doesn’t mean absolutely anything.
“For some time we have heard from the Jewish people that the biggest antisemites were Jewish.”
Israel reacted furiously to the remark through its foreign minister Yair Lapid.
He tweeted: “Foreign Minister Lavrov’s remarks are both an unforgivable and outrageous statement as well as a terrible historical error. Jews did not murder themselves in the Holocaust.
“The lowest level of racism against Jews is to accuse Jews themselves of antisemitism.”
Foreign Minister Lavrov’s remarks are both an unforgivable and outrageous statement as well as a terrible historical error. Jews did not murder themselves in the Holocaust. The lowest level of racism against Jews is to accuse Jews themselves of antisemitism.
— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid???? (@yairlapid) May 2, 2022
Israeli officials also summoned the Russian ambassador to Tel Aviv for a diplomatic rebuke.
There was condemnation too from Yad Vashem, which called the remarks “absurd, delusional, dangerous and deserving of condemnation.”
It said in a statement: “Lavrov is propagating the inversion of the Holocaust — turning the victims into the criminals on the basis of promoting a completely unfounded claim that Hitler was of Jewish descent.
“Equally serious is calling the Ukrainians in general, and President (Volodymyr) Zelensky in particular, Nazis. This, among other things, is a complete distortion of the history and an affront to the victims of Nazism.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
