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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.”

The incident joins a series of similar ones in recent months, posing a danger to the safety of IDF troops, according to the military.
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