The Russian foreign ministry has announced that it will summon Israeli ambassador Simona Halperin due to “inappropriate statements” she made during an interview, as reported by the TASS news agency on Monday. According to the ministry, Halperin mischaracterized Russia’s foreign policy stance in an interview with Russia’s Kommersant daily, which was published on Sunday. The ministry criticized her comments as a “very unfortunate start” to her diplomatic tenure, which began last December. Simona Halperin, the current Israeli ambassador to Russia. (credit: PUBLIC DOMAIN)Halperin Accuses Lavrov of Downplaying the HolocaustDuring the interview, Halperin criticized Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for downplaying the significance of the Holocaust. She pointed out that Israel has memorials to the Red Army’s fight against Nazism and highlighted the joint events held in Russia by the Moscow government and the Jewish community to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which coincides with the anniversary of the Leningrad blockade. “Yes, many nations suffered heavy losses,” Halperin told Kommersant, “the Russian people sacrificed millions of lives to defeat Nazism. And we remember that. But never before in history did the world witness such widespread and systematic annihilation of people based solely on their nationality. This was endured only by the Jewish people. I will continue to emphasize this tirelessly.”Halperin also reaffirmed Israel’s support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. “Israel has supported and will continue to support the principle of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” she stated.Halperin Questions Russia on HamasAsked about Israel’s concerns with Russia’s Middle East policy, Halperin pointed to Moscow’s hesitation in condemning the October 7 attack by Hamas. She expressed that “some time passed before Russia publicly denounced this attack, labeled it as a terrorist act, and mentioned Hamas.” Additionally, she highlighted the absence of condemnation from Moscow regarding Hamas, a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, and its anti-Israel actions since October 7, as well as Russia’s failure to condemn Hezbollah and the Houthis. “We do not hear any condemnation at the UN Security Council,” stated the ambassador. “On the contrary, it stands in solidarity with the Republic of South Africa, which filed a baseless lawsuit against Israel.”However, the overall tone of the interview was not consistently confrontational. “I’m unlikely to be able to hide from you that there are disagreements between us on a number of issues,” Halperin stated. “For example, Russia’s stance in the UN is completely unacceptable to Israel. But I firmly believe in open and direct dialogue…Moreover, there are non-controversial issues where we can collaborate, such as the joint effort to secure the release of all remaining hostages in the hands of Hamas.”Reuters contributed to this article.
