Israel Will Help Ukrainians 'as Much As Possible', Foreign Minister Says

Demonstrators gather in support of Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion and watch a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky being broadcast at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, on Habima Square in Tel Aviv, Israel March 20, 2022. REUTERS/Corinna Kern

LVIV, Ukraine, March 20 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky chided Israel in a speech to parliament on Sunday, asking why it was not providing missile defense to his country and imposing sanctions on Russia over its invasion.

Responding to Zelensky, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid was evasive, saying in a statement that Israel, which has sent a field hospital and other humanitarian aid to Ukraine, will continue to help its people “as far as we can.”

A mediator in the Ukrainian-Russian crisis, Israel condemned the Russian invasion. But he is wary of straining relations with Moscow, a powerhouse in neighboring Syria, where Israeli forces often attack pro-Iranian militias.

“Everyone knows that your missile defense systems are the best … and that you can definitely help our people, save the lives of Ukrainians, Ukrainian Jews,” Zelensky, who is himself Jewish, told the Knesset via video link.

“We can ask why we cannot get weapons from you, why Israel has not imposed strong sanctions against Russia or is not putting pressure on Russian business,” he said in one of his several addresses to foreign legislatures.

He mentioned the Israeli Iron Dome system, often used to intercept rockets fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza.

“In any case, the choice is yours, brothers and sisters, and you must live with your answer, the people of Israel,” Zelensky said.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin two weeks ago in Moscow and has spoken to him and Zelensky frequently since, was among more than 100 of the 120 MPs who took part in the video call.

He did not give any comments immediately after the speech of the Ukrainian leader.

In his speech, Zelenskiy drew comparisons between the Russian offensive and Nazi Germany’s plan to wipe out European Jewry during World War II.

“Listen to what they are saying in Moscow now, listen to how they say these words again: the final decision. But this time in relation to us, to the Ukrainian issue,” he said.

Zelenskiy did not provide any evidence for his claim, nor did he specify who might have used the term. Putin used the phrase meaning “final decision/final resolution” once in the past 30 days, according to Reuters monitoring of his remarks, but not in a context that had the same resonance or significance as the Nazi terminology.

The mention of Zelensky drew condemnation from Yad Vashem, the Israeli memorial in Jerusalem to the six million Jews killed by Nazi Germany in World War II. It says that such “irresponsible statements” trivialize the historical facts of the Holocaust.

Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Max Hander. Text by Matthias Williams and Ari Rabinovich; Edited by Alexander Smith, Geoffrey Heller, and Francis Kerry.

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