Hands Off the Holocaust

Exhibit A is Vladimir Putin’s propaganda machine. For years, the Kremlin has painted modern Ukraine as fascist, chock full of latter-day Nazis. Doubling down on that narrative two weeks ago, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told an Italian interviewer: “So what if Zelensky is Jewish? The fact does not negate the Nazi elements in Ukraine. Hitler also had Jewish blood — the most ardent anti-Semites are usually Jews.”

Putin’s apology to Naftali Bennett didn’t change the fact that the Holocaust — specifically painting foes as Nazis — has become a staple of Russian foreign policy.

But Ukraine isn’t innocent either. Putting aside the country’s anti-Semitic past, President Zelensky’s repeatedly drawn parallels between his country’s fate and the Holocaust — invoking the “Final Solution” in a speech to the Knesset — are at odds with historical reality.

Ukraine is undergoing an unprovoked war of aggression, in which thousands have died in bombardments that are crimes against humanity. But the Russians don’t want to kill every last man, woman, and child simply because of their genes. Theirs is not a hatred that has been nurtured for a thousand years. They want territory and empire, not every last drop of Ukrainian blood.