Zelensky will address the United Nations General Assembly

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stepped up his campaign to condemn Russia’s invasion and to call attention to the humanitarian crisis in which tens of millions of Ukrainian people have lost their homes and fled their homes. Zelensky’s next major speech will be at the United Nations General Assembly. And Zelensky’s speech to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in which Zelensky cited Nazi Germany’s “Final Solution” massacre of Jews and accused Russia of targeting the Holocaust in Ukraine, sparked controversy in Israel.

Speaking to Israel’s parliament via video link, Mr. Zelensky questioned Israel’s reluctance to sell its Iron Dome missile defense system to Ukraine, Reuters reported. This is Zelensky ‘s latest appeal for help.

Zelensky, who is of Jewish descent, said: “Everyone knows your missile defense is the best… And you can certainly help our people and save the lives of Ukrainians and Ukrainian Jews.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke repeatedly with Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to end the conflict.

The BBC reports there has been a mixed reaction in Israel after the Ukrainian president addressed the Knesset. But Zelensky compared the situation in his country to that of Jews during World War II. And that didn’t make the Israelis happy at all.

The BBC’s Michele Paul in Jerusalem quotes an editorial saying Zelensky is rewriting history by comparing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the Nazis, downplaying their holocaust. For the Israeli right, the Ukrainian president has gone too far in his parallels with the Holocaust, especially when he cites the “final Solution”.

Juaz Handel, a minister in Israel’s Bennett government, points out that genocide also took place on Ukrainian soil. For the left-wing daily Haaretz, disappointment and anger lay in Zelensky’s words in front of the virtual Knesset, which is on holiday. Another newspaper, Maariv, compared Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to Emile Zola, with the headline: “J ‘Accuse” on its front page.

According to Zelensky, indifference can kill. For Israel’s Expatriate Minister, Nachman-Say, Israel could certainly do better, especially when it comes to refugees and providing defensive military equipment, helmets and body armor to Ukrainians.

On Monday morning, just hours after his speech, Zelensky explained his remarks via twitter, saying he understood Israel’s interests and concerns and that Israel must protect its own people.