Topline
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Israel Sunday for not taking a stronger position against Russia during an address to Israel’s parliament Sunday—the final stop on a whirlwind campaign that had him pleading and, at time, sternly pressing foreign powers for greater support for his country as the war continues to rage.
Demonstrators gather at Habima Square in the centre of Israel’s Mediterranean coastal city of Tel … [+]
Key Facts
“It is possible to mediate between countries,” Zelensky said in his Zoom address to members of Israel’s parliament Sunday, according to a translation from the New York Times, “but not between good and evil.”
Zelensky asked why Israel had not provided Ukraine with its “Iron Dome” defense technology, and requested it continue to take in Ukrainian refugees despite the country’s reluctance to do so.
Zelensky’s address to Israel follows his call with the U.S. Congress Wednesday, in which he reiterated his request that the U.S. implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine, and called for sanctions on all Russian politicians.
Similar to his Sunday speech in which he invoked the Holocaust, Zelensky referenced historic tragedies in his address to Congress, asking Americans to “remember” 9/11 and Pearl Harbor.
On Saturday, Zelensky spoke remotely to a rally outside the Swiss parliament in Bern, shaming Swiss companies like Nestle for continuing to do business in Russia “even though our children are dying,” according to a translation from the Agence France-Presse.
On Thursday, Zelensky addressed German lawmakers, saying sanctions Germany had imposed on Russia were “too few” and invoking the Berlin Wall, asking German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to tear down the “wall” Ukraine was behind.
Crucial Quote
Zelensky, who is Jewish, referenced the Holocaust in his ten-minute speech, pointing to a recent Russian missile strike that hit the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial site in Ukraine: “You know what this place means, where the victims of the Holocaust are buried,” he said, according to a translation from NBC News.
Key Background
Zelensky also requested a no-fly zone in his address to Canadian parliament on Tuesday and to the U.K. Parliament earlier this month—a common thread in his addresses to NATO nations, though likely an unrealistic ask. The U.S. has said repeatedly a no-fly zone is a non-starter, as it would mean a direct conflict with Russia.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/masonbissada/2022/03/20/zelensky-warns-israel-not-to-mediate-between-good-and-evil/