Russia openly opposes not only Ukraine but also Israel. Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Reuven Azman said this in an interview with the YouTube channel "Finding Answers with Inna Zolotukhina". He spoke about his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and explained why Israel is afraid to actively support Ukraine.
Media outlet "Gordon" shared the words of Rabbi Azman.
"One must be aware that Israel is surrounded by enemies who want to destroy it from all sides. Israel is willing to help and helps Ukraine in any way it can, but it must first of all take care of its security. Russia has been bordering Israel on Syria for several years. What they forgot there, I do not know. Nevertheless, they are there. There is Iran, [the Lebanese paramilitary group] Hezbollah, so Russia is blackmailing Israel.
Israel does not want an open conflict because Hezbollah has missiles that can be targeted at Israel. Moreover, Iran is constantly trying to deliver missiles to them. Russia is stirring something up, making some deals. Therefore, Israel does not want an open conflict with Russia because Russia is blackmailing it. You can understand Israel. I made every effort to change the opinion of Israeli society, met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu three times, and was able to explain to him how important it is to help Ukraine.
Iran is not just an enemy of Israel. Iran openly declares that it wants to destroy the Jewish state. That is, this is the villain, the number one enemy of Israel. Russia is now its strategic ally. In addition, Iranian drones are being tested in Ukraine to hit Israel. Of course, this is not done for free. According to some reports, Russia offers Iran nuclear technology. This is a very dangerous moment. I am sure that Israeli intelligence knows all this. In other words, Russia openly opposes not only Ukraine but also Israel.
[Knesset member from the Likud party] Nir Barkat is the first politician to say that it is necessary to support Ukraine. There was a good conversation between [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky and Netanyahu. And in recent days, there has been a terrible mistake, although it has been repeated twice – illogical, incomprehensible... Zelensky asked for help from Israel so that they gave us weapons – and here Ukraine at the UN votes twice against Israel. Israel was hurt – both by society and by volunteers. I cannot understand why this happened. These were illogical things for Ukraine.
Like Estonia, the president or one of the high-ranking officials should declare that they promise to vote for Israel. I am just asking for that. After so many difficulties, Israel is ready to help Ukraine. Thus, in this issue, Ukraine opposes Israel. This can negate our work. Ukraine needs it so much, and Israel has something to help. The previous government did nothing. Maybe this one will do something," the rabbi stressed.
According to him, the Ukrainian people are a proud people. Thus, what the Russians are doing leads to the opposite consequences. No one, the rabbi emphasized, wants to go to Soviet slavery. People want to live a free life, and good will overcome evil.