Russian Chief Rabbi Lazar: ‘It Would Be Nice’ If Lavrov Apologized for Hitler Comments

Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar has criticized remarks by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who suggested that the worst anti-Semites were Jewish and that Adolf Hitler had Jewish ancestry, JTA reported.

Rabbi Lazar’s criticism of Lavrov’s remarks — he called them “shocking” and said he wished Lavrov would apologize — is unusual in Russia, where other clergy have been supportive of the war in Ukraine and where dissent is largely illegal.

Widely viewed as having close ties with President Vladimir Putin, Rabbi Lazar and the organization he leads, the Chabad Lubavitch-affiliated Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, have expressed displeasure with the war while refraining from criticizing the Putin regime directly over it.

“I do not consider myself entitled to give advice to the head of Russian diplomacy — but it would be nice if he apologized to the Jews and simply admitted that he was mistaken,” Rabbi Lazar wrote in a reply to a request for comment by the JTA.

“I think it would then be possible to consider the incident settled and turn the page,” Rabbi Lazar added.

Rabbi Lazar said it was “inappropriate to draw any comparisons” between the Holocaust and current affairs. Referring to the role that Soviet forces played in defeating the Nazis, he told the JTA that such a comparison “belittles the achievement of these heroic soldiers who liberated Auschwitz and hoisted the banner of victory over the Reichstag.”