Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday urged Israeli lawmakers to help his country defend itself against Russia, The Jerusalem Post reported.
In a speech before the Israeli Knesset, Zelensky asked why government officials have not yet imposed sanctions on Russia like those imposed by the US and Europe. He also asked Israel to send its Iron Dome missile defense system to Ukraine to help protect its citizens from Russian airstrikes that are devastating the country.
“Why did Israel refrain from sanctions against Russia? Israel needs to be given answers to these questions and then live with them,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky praised the Israeli Iron Dome system, calling it the best in the world. But the Ukrainian president has also expressed disappointment that Israel is not contributing to Ukraine’s defense, the Post reported.
“We are turning to you and asking what is better – help or mediation without choosing a side,” Zelensky said. “I’ll let you choose the answer to the question, but I want to point out that indifference kills.”
Zelenskiy also likened what his country is going through now to the Holocaust, which angered some Israeli lawmakers.
“His criticism of Israel was legitimate, as were his high expectations of us,” Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist Party, said after Zelensky’s speech. “But not his outrageous and ridiculous comparison to the Holocaust and his attempt to rewrite history and erase the role of the Ukrainian people in trying to exterminate the Jewish people.”
Addressing U.S. lawmakers last week, Zelenskiy mentioned 9/11 and Pearl Harbor to demand more help from Congress and “close the skies over Ukraine.”
The Biden administration has said it will not support a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which it believes will further escalate the conflict with Russia.
In a statement, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid thanked Zelensky for “sharing his feelings and the hardships of the Ukrainian people,” adding that his country will continue to help Ukraine and “never turn its back on people suffering from the nightmares of war.” an Israeli newspaper notes.