Israeli PM Naftali Bennett condemns Lavrov’s remarks

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Israeli PM Naftali Bennett condemns Lavrov’s remarks

JERUSALEM - Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett condemned on Monday a claim by Russian foreign minister Sergey V. Lavrov that Jews were the biggest antisemites. The Israeli Foreign Ministry also summoned the Russian ambassador to Israel to explain Mr. Lavrov's remarks, while the Israeli foreign minister, Yair Lapid, demanded an apology.

After an interview with Mr. Lavrov on Sunday, an Italian television journalist asked him why Russia claimed to denazify Ukraine when the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, was Jewish. Lavrov replied that he thought Hitler had Jewish roots, a claim dismissed by historians, and added: For a long time, we have been hearing the wise Jewish people say that the biggest antisemites are the Jews themselves. Mr. Bennett said he viewed Mr. Lavrov's remarks with the utmost severity, saying that the comments were untrue and their intentions are wrong.