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Russia's Foreign Minister has angered Israel and people around the world for claiming Adolf Hitler had Jewish roots.
Sergey Lavrov has astounded many for trying to allege the leader of the Nazi party, who organised a horrific genocide against Jews, had Jewish heritage himself.
Lavrov appeared on Italian news channel Rete 4 and was asked about Russian President Vladimir Putin's real reasons behind invading Ukraine.
"The biggest antisemites are Jews."
— Business Ukraine mag (@Biz_Ukraine_Mag) May 1, 2022
In an alarmingly unhinged interview for Italian TV, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov explained why Ukraine’s Jewish President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a Nazi and claimed that Adolf Hitler “also had Jewish blood.” pic.twitter.com/FWqxVLahmK
The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that Russian troops were sent into their western neighbour to de-Nazify the country.
Lavrov was asked why this would be necessary considering Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is Jewish.
The Foreign Minister replied: "When they say 'What sort of nazification is this if we are Jews', well I think that Hitler also had Jewish origins, so it means nothing."
He added: "For a long time now we've been hearing the wise Jewish people say that the biggest anti-Semites are the Jews themselves."
Under Hitler's rule in Nazi Germany, six million Jewish people died during the Holocaust.
The BBC reports how there have been decades of rumours that Hitler's unidentified paternal grandfather was Jewish, however there has been no evidence to back up the assertion.
Mr Lavrov's comments have sparked fury and many have called on the Foreign Minister to apologise and retract his statement.
Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said: "Such lies are intended to accuse the Jews themselves of the most horrific crimes in history that were committed against them.
"The use of the Holocaust of the Jewish people for political purposes must stop immediately."
First, the Russian missiles hit the place where the Babyn Yar memorial complex is. Now the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov is comparing Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Hitler, who murdered 6 million Jews. Because, according to Lavrov, "Jews are usually the fiercest anti-Semites."
— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) May 2, 2022
Israel's Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid, wrote on Twitter: "Foreign Minister Lavrov’s remarks are both an unforgivable and outrageous statement as well as a terrible historical error.
"Jews did not murder themselves in the Holocaust. The lowest level of racism against Jews is to accuse Jews themselves of antisemitism."
In Germany, the country's anti-Semitism commissioner said Lavrov's comments were incredibly inappropriate.
Felix Klein told the Funke group of newspapers: "Lavrov is cynically twisting victims and perpetrators of past and present."
Klein added: "[The remarks] mock the victims of National Socialism in an unacceptable manner and shamelessly confront not only Jews but the entire international public with open anti-Semitism."
President Zelenskyy said: "I have no words... No one has heard any denial or any justification from Moscow. All we have from there is silence."
The BBC reports Lavrov's comments will likely test the delicate relationship between Russia and Israel
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