Israel’s previous reticence to criticize Russia sparked backlash from Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister, who visited Jerusalem last week.
By World Israel News Staff
After days of carefully worded statements toeing the diplomatic line, Israel expressly spoke out against Russia’s incursion into Russia on Thursday, with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid saying in a media conference that the invasion is “a grave violation of the international order.”
For the first time, Lapid said Israel “condemns the attack” and is ready to provide both humanitarian aid to Ukrainian civilians and extensive help to Jewish Ukrainians and Israeli citizens currently stuck in the country.
Lapid’s remarks were a major departure from the Israeli government’s previous tight-lipped responses to brewing tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
Both Russia and Ukraine have close trade, financial, and political ties with the Jewish State,. Russia has become an especially critical ally in recent years as it coordinates with Israel around security matters relating to Syria.
Israel’s earlier reticence to explicitly criticize Russia sparked backlash from Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister, who visited Jerusalem last week.
“Israel has deep, long-lasting, and good relations with Russia and with Ukraine,” Lapid said last Thursday.
“There are tens of thousands of Israelis in both countries, and there are hundreds of thousands of Jews in both countries. Maintaining their security and safety is at the top of our agenda.”
Last Wednesday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry released a precisely worded missive referring to “concerns” in the region, but failing to explicitly single out or criticize Russia.
Two weeks ago, Lapid and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called on Israeli citizens to leave Ukraine immediately.
According to reports earlier in February, Israeli government officials were preparing for mass evacuations of both Ukrainian nationals with Jewish heritage who qualify for Israeli citizenship and the repatriation of Israeli citizens currently in the eastern European country.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry estimates that there are up to 15,000 Israeli citizens currently in Ukraine, and there are some 150,000 – 200,000 Ukrainian Jews who could be granted Israeli citizenship.