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Israel’s president calls on Lavrov to apologize for anti-Semitic remarks

“During a week when we are remembering the Holocaust, the Russian foreign minister chooses to spread lies, terrible lies,” said Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks at Haaretz Democracy Conference in Jaffa, Nov. 9, 2021. Credit: Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks at Haaretz Democracy Conference in Jaffa, Nov. 9, 2021. Credit: Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called on Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to apologize for claiming that “even Hitler had Jewish blood.”

“Lavrov is spreading anti-Semitic lies. I expect him to apologize,” Herzog told Haaretz on Tuesday.

He said “at first, I couldn’t believe that they had been uttered by a Russian foreign minister. They made me angry and disgusted.”

Lavrov sought to justify Russia’s argument for its ongoing war: the “de-Nazification” of Ukraine, even though the country’s president is Jewish.

“During a week when we are remembering the Holocaust, of all weeks, the Russian foreign minister chooses to spread lies, terrible lies, which smell of anti-Semitism,” added Israel’s president. “I expect him to retract his words and apologize.”

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The meeting “focused on strategies to strengthen Jewish safety and belonging, maintain candid lines of communication and collaborate on issues where we have shared values and goals,” Phylisa Wisdom, executive director of the Mayor’s office to Combat Antisemitism, told JNS.