Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) took to the Senate floor on Monday to condemn as “particularly disgusting” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s comments comparing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, to Adolf Hitler and accusing Jews of anti-Semitism.
“As the Russian army continues slaughtering civilians, Foreign Minister Lavrov did what many others who now reside in the dustbin of history have done before him: resort to anti-Semitism to defend his nation’s actions,” Mr. Schumer said.
As the highest ranking Jewish elected official in the U.S., Mr. Schumer said, he took “particular umbrage” at what Mr. Lavrov said.
“Mr. Lavrov’s comments are just sickening and deserve to be condemned by all who oppose the dangers of anti-Semitism,” Mr. Schumer said. “They tap into the very old and very poisonous notion that the Jewish people themselves were the architects of the worst human atrocities of modern history, even when they were aimed at Jews themselves.”
Asked Sunday by Italy’s Rete 4 channel about Russian claims that it invaded Ukraine to “de-nazify” the country, Mr. Lavrov said that Ukraine could still have Nazi elements even if some figures, including Mr. Zelensky, were Jewish.
“So what if Zelensky is Jewish,” Mr. Lavrov said. “That fact does not negate the Nazi elements in Ukraine. I believe that Hitler also had Jewish blood…some of the worst anti-Semites are Jews.” Mr. Lavrov appeared to amplify a conspiracy theory that Hitler’s paternal grandfather was Jewish, a claim that has been dismissed by mainstream historians.
Mr. Zelensky in a late-night address said: “These words mean that Russia’s top diplomat is blaming the Jewish people for Nazi crimes. No words.”
Mr. Lavrov’s comments also strained relations between Russia and Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he viewed Mr. Lavrov’s comments “with utmost severity,” calling them lies and demanding that “use of the Holocaust of the Jewish people as a political tool must cease immediately.”