Russia may be angry at Israel, and certainly working against the Jewish State in the international arena, but President Vladimir Putin says he is still personally committed to fighting antisemitism and commemorating the Holocaust.
The Russian leader made the statement on Tuesday during a call with Israel’s
President Isaac Herzog.
The two leaders discussed Israeli-Russian bilateral relations, including the challenges of the Jewish People in the Diaspora. Herzog seized the opportunity during the call to elaborate on the issue of the activities of the Jewish Agency in Russia, his office said.
“The phone call was frank and honest. The two presidents emphasized the important areas of cooperation between Israel and Russia and agreed to remain in contact,” Herzog’s office said.
“President Putin underscored his personal commitment to Holocaust commemoration and the fight against antisemitism.”
The phone call was initiated by President Herzog at the request of Prime Minister Yair Lapid and in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This past weekend, Russia foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova slammed Israel’s Operation Breaking Dawn against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, which was preparing to carry out a serious attack against Israelis living near the Gaza border.
Zakharova wrote in an obviously double-standard statement on the ministry’s website that “Moscow is seriously concerned about a new round of armed violence in the zone of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
“Another escalation was provoked by Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on August 5, in response to which Palestinian groups launched massive indiscriminate shelling of Israeli territory,” she complained.
