Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the Knesset via Zoom on Sunday as part of his flurry of speeches to legislative chambers around the world in an effort to convince governments to actively support his country in the face of the Russian invasion.
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With the parliament in recess and undergoing renovations, most MKs and ministers tuned into the virtual event from various locations. Those without access to Zoom, and Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy, who hosted the event, gathered to view the address from a specially designated hall in the parliament. All participants' were muted to prevent interruptions during the speech.
"We want to live but our neighbors want us dead, there is not a lot of room for compromise," Zelenskyy said, paraphrasing former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir.
"Just like you were wandering around the world, looking for safety, our people are now wandering the world. This is an unjust war, with Russian trying to destroy anything that makes Ukrainians who they are," Zelenskyy continued. "Our history and your history are histories of survival," he continued. "Listen to what the Kremlin is saying, they're using the same terminology of the Nazi party. What they sought to destroy all of Europe, they didn't want to leave any of you, and now from of us. They called it the 'Final Solution'."
"The people of Israel, you saw how Russian rockets hit Babi Yar. You know what this place means, where the victims of the Holocaust are buried," he said. "The Righteous Among the Nations in Ukraine made their choice 80 years ago, and now we expect you to make your choice," he concluded, referring to the Ukrainians who risked their lives to hide Jews from being sent to the extermination camps.
Levy delivered an opening speech just before the president began his remarks. "I want to thank you for dedicating time during these tough months to discuss with us in Israel," Levy said. "I would like to extend our solidarity with the pain of the Ukrainian people," he continued. He said that "We should do everything to end the fighting as soon as possible," and added that he hoped the mediation efforts of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett "bear fruit."
🔴 President #Zelensky to Israel's Knesset:
'Listen to what the Kremlin is saying, they're using the same terminology of the Nazi party'
'What they sought to destroy all of Europe, they didn't want to leave any of you, and now from of us. They called it the 'Final Solution'' pic.twitter.com/HjhsKw8pSU
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) March 20, 2022
The Tel Aviv Municipality hosted a live stream of the speech on a large screen in the city's central Habima Square and about 1,000 had gathered well before the speech. The decision to show the speech at the square came before the Knesset address was finalized when officials of the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel asked the city to organize an event that would reach the broader Israeli public. The two events were eventually folded into one.
Israel's parliament is one of many across the world that Zelenskyy has addressed. Last week, he spoke virtually to members of the US Congress, again urging US lawmakers to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, invoking the horrors of Pearl Harbor and 9/11.
Since the beginning of the war on Feb. 24, over three million refugees have fled the besieged country in what has been described as Europe's largest ground war since World War II.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, whose late father was a Holocaust survivor, thanked Zelenskyy for the speech. "We will continue to assist the Ukrainian people as much as we can and we will never turn our backs to the plight of people who know the horrors of war," Lapid said. But Yad Vashem, Israel's national Holocaust memorial, which had previously condemned Putin's Nazi references, also harshly criticized Zelenskyy, without naming him.
"Propagandist discourse accompanying the current hostilities is saturated with irresponsible statements and completely inaccurate comparisons with Nazi ideology and actions before and during the Holocaust," it said. "Yad Vashem condemns this trivialization and distortion of the historical facts of the Holocaust."
The Israeli public has been largely supportive of Ukraine since Russia invaded its western neighbor on Feb. 24. But Israel's government has been much more cautious as it carves out a role as a mediator in the war, in part because of Russia's strong military presence in Syria in support of the Bashar Assad regime. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett paid a surprise visit to Moscow to meet with Putin on March 5. Since then, he has spoken to the Russian leader at least twice and to Zelenskyy at least six times, according to his office.
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