Zelensky seeks forum at Yad Vashem, Knesset
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked to speak to Israel’s main Holocaust museum, Yad Vashem, about the Russian invasion of his country, in which both sides invoked Nazi genocide.
Yad Vashem said in a statement Thursday that it would discuss the proposal with Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel on Sunday. The Ukrainian Embassy could not immediately be reached for comment.
Russia has said it aims to “denazify” Ukraine, a claim dismissed as nonsense by Kiev and Western countries. Zelensky, who is Jewish, said Russian shelling near Babyn Yar, a Holocaust memorial in Kyiv, on March 3 suggested “history is repeating itself.”
Zelensky sought to build support with video briefings from overseas audiences that included the US Congress and UK Parliament. Earlier this week he asked to address Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, but was told he was about to go on vacation.
However, on Thursday, Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy said Zelensky was now expected to address the Knesset via Zoom in the coming days.
In a statement, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk “thanked President Levy for his welcoming response to his letter and for publicly clarifying and refuting false reports in the press, which allegedly claimed that the President refused President Zelensky’s request to address members of the Knesset.
Earlier Thursday, Yad Vashem said it had suspended a strategic partnership with Roman Abramovich, a Russian oligarch who has faced sanctions abroad since invading Ukraine.
Yad Vashem announced last month that funding promised by Abramovich would bolster its efforts in the areas of Holocaust research and remembrance.
Britain also froze the assets of Chelsea football club owner Abramovich on Thursday.
