In times of the full-scale war against Ukraine, Russian propaganda actively uses rhetoric about alleged "neo-Nazism" and "anti-Semitism" in the country's state policy.
In an interview with Glavkom, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel Michael Brodsky denied such allegations, calling them absurd.
The ambassador noted that Ukraine is one of the most pro-Ukrainian-Israeli countries in Europe. According to him, this "is reflected in officials' statements in support of Ukraine and in public opinion, for the latter is also on Israel's side."
Michael Brodsky noted that he does not see the issue of anti-Semitism in Ukraine.
"I do not see any particular problems with anti-Semitism. The level of anti-Semitism in Ukraine is very low, which is typical for Eastern and Central Europe. In the West, it is really higher. Still, all the talks about anti-Semitism or neo-Nazism at the state level are utterly absurd, and I have been saying this since the first days of the war. This is ridiculous, given that the president of Ukraine is Jewish. There are also representatives of the Jewish community in Ukrainian business and culture. Therefore, nothing of what Russia is talking about is even close," Brodsky emphasized.
Ukraine continues to maintain diplomatic relations with Palestine. According to the ambassador, Israel would like Ukraine to support the country in all issues important to Israel.
"Of course, we would like Ukraine to support Israel in all issues vital for Israel. And we would like Ukraine to have a stronger stance on Iran, given that it is an enemy state for you as well, and that Iranian weapons are used against Ukraine. We would also like to see Ukraine move its embassy to Jerusalem, as the United States has already done. Yet, we do not live in a perfect world. It happens that Ukraine has questions for Israel, and Israel has questions for Ukraine. And this is normal - we discuss these issues," Brodsky added.
As reported previously, Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Azman noted that Russian diplomacy and propaganda have been inflating the issue of anti-Semitism in Ukraine for years. According to him, Jews have not been insulted, discriminated against, or harassed in Ukraine for a long time.