Russia invites Israeli envoy over diplomatic spat on Nazi-era collaborators

The Israeli envoy in Moscow Ronen Kraus was invited by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, as part of a continuing spat over the glorification of Nazi collaborators in Ukraine, according to Russia’s state TASS news agency.

"Ronen Kraus, Charge d'Affaires of the State of Israel in Moscow, was invited to the Russian Foreign Ministry for a conversation. The attention of the Israeli representative was drawn to the public statements of Israeli Ambassador to Kiev Michael Brodsky,” the press release said.

The Russians claim that Israel’s Ambassador to Kyiv Michael Brodsky was “whitewashing former Nazi accomplices in Ukraine” when he spoke about Roman Shukhevych and Stepan Bandera. The Kremlin suggested that interactions “with the Ukrainian authorities should not be linked to the topic of glorification of Stepan Bandera and his supporters.”

Bandera was a Ukrainian that sided with Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during the Second World War. The troops he led reportedly killed thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. Despite that, he is considered a hero in Ukraine because he fought against the Soviets.

Brodsky commented on such Nazi collaborators, saying that Israel doesn’t like that they are role models but conceded that “for most Ukrainians, these are heroes who fought for their independence.” It was this comment that started a diplomatic spat.

“No one has the right to have such heroes,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated on June 22, adding “if in Brodsky’s opinion Kyiv has the right to heroes like that, then it is a problem for the Israeli Foreign Ministry.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lior Haiat responded, “there is no change in Israel’s policy, which is absolutely opposed to and rejects the glorification of criminals who collaborated with the Nazis in murdering Jews.”

“No party should lecture the State of Israel, Israel’s Foreign Ministry, or its diplomats about the importance of preserving the memory of the Holocaust or about the war on historical distortion,” Haiat added.

Back to the meeting on Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the discussion “emphasized the importance of continuing joint efforts in this direction and the need for an unambiguous assessment of the actions of those who in their desire to encourage Russophobic sentiments are inspired by the deeds of war criminals like Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevich, who stained their hands in the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent victims, including Jews."