Euroasian Jewish News

Israeli Foreign Ministry condemns public glorification of antisemitic ideologists in Ukraine

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement in which it condemned public glorification of individuals responsible for the murder of Jews and antisemitic ideologists in Ukraine and said that preserving the memory of the Holocaust and the battle against antisemitism are not an internal matter of any country.

The Embassy of Israel in Ukraine posted the statement on Facebook on Tuesday.

"Individuals responsible for the murder of Jews in the Holocaust and in pogroms, as well as antisemitic ideologists of the Ukrainian National movement have recently been subject of public glorification in Ukraine," the ministry said.

It also said that "preserving the memory of the Holocaust and the battle against antisemitism – including the glorification of antisemites and murderers of Jews - are not an internal matter of any country."

"On the contrary, those are essential obligations and responsibilities of every Israeli diplomat. It represents a shared moral duty to Israel and its many allies across the world," reads the statement.

As reported, on January 2, Polish and Israeli ambassadors to Ukraine Bartosz Cichocki and Joel Lion issued a joint statement on the honoring in Ukraine on January 1 of the leaders of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. The ambassadors said they considered it insulting to honor in Ukraine people who "actively promoted ethnic cleansing," adding that they expected the Kyiv city state administration and the council of the Lviv region to join "the search for the truth" in this issue.

On January 8, the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine told Cichocki that a public debate on internal issues of Ukrainian politics was counterproductive.

On January 9, Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Hennadiy Nadolenko told the Israeli Foreign Ministry, referring to the joint statement made on January 2, that Lion was conducting a counterproductive public debate on internal issues of Ukrainian politics.

The Ambassador of Ukraine emphasized that the revival and preservation of the national memory of the Ukrainian people was one of the main priorities of the state policy of Ukraine. Discussions in this area should be held at the level of historians and experts.

Interfax-Ukraine