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The Russian ambassador to Israel stormed out of a Victory Day event hosted by the Knesset after some of its members condemned the war in Ukraine, Israeli reports said on Tuesday.
Anatoly Viktorov reportedly walked out of Israel’s parliament grumbling after members of the Knesset used the day’s celebrations to investigate Russia’s deadly campaign.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, bottom left, pauses during the opening of the summer session of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem, Monday, May 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO POLAND OVERCUT IN RED PAINT WHILE TRYING TO CELEBRATE PUTIN’S ‘VICTORY DAY’
“The war in Ukraine is a crime,” Ukrainian-born Israeli MP Yevgeny Soba said during the event, according to Israeli news agency Mako. “I can’t help but feel pain to see what happens.
“It hurts me, especially that those who fought against the Nazi oppressors and achieved victory are fighting each other today,” he added. “The war is a slap in the face to our generation of grandparents who fought against the Nazis.”
Victory Day, or Victory Day in Europe, commemorates the day World War II ended in Europe when the Nazis signed Germany’s instrument of surrender to the Allied Expeditionary Force and the Soviet Union.
Although the day is celebrated across Europe and in Israel, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the commemoration an element of his propaganda machine.
Putin has attempted to justify his deadly invasion by claiming he was “denazifying” Ukraine — a claim flatly dismissed by Western nations, which have pointed out that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was democratically elected and is Jewish became.
Russia held parades in war-torn cities across Ukraine, such as Mariupol, which has seen some of the most brutal attacks in the country since the war began nearly 11 weeks ago.
The war has created the largest humanitarian crisis in Europe since World War II, displacing millions and killing at least 7,000 Ukrainian civilians.
Ahead of Victory Day, Ukrainian officials warned that Russian forces could attempt to use Ukrainian prisoners of war and arbitrarily detained civilians to take part in the parades, although it is unclear if this has happened.
Israeli-Russian relatives of World War II veterans hold their photos during a ceremony marking the 77th anniversary of the end of World War II at a memorial to Jewish fighters in Haifa, Israel, Monday, May 9, 2022. (AP Photo/ Ariel Shalit )
PUTIN APOLOGIES TO ISRAEL AFTER LAVROV’S HITLER REMARKS
Israeli-Russian relations have deteriorated in recent weeks after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested that Zelenskyy’s Jewish background was no proof that his government had not engaged in anti-Semitic behavior.
“In my opinion, Hitler was also of Jewish origin, so it means absolutely nothing,” Lavrov told an Italian news outlet earlier this month.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid fired back at Lavrov’s comments, calling them “unforgivable”.
“Jews did not kill themselves in the Holocaust,” said the Israeli foreign minister called. “The lowest level of racism against Jews is to accuse Jews themselves of anti-Semitism.”
People walk along a bridge under a billboard displaying a yellow Star of David resembling the one Jews were forced to wear in Nazi Germany on the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day in Ramat Gan, Israel April 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
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Putin reportedly apologized to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for the inflammatory comments.
Bennett’s office said the minister accepted the apology last week.
Fox News’ Dana Karni contributed to this report.