.speechboy71: We can call out Russia’s war as horrific without calling it ‘genocide’
Ukrainian evacuees on a refugee bus Monday after having crossed the Ukrainian border with Poland at the Medyka border crossing., MSNBC Opinion Columnist
Last week, in a fiery address to Israeli lawmakers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a speech to Israeli parliamentarians equating Russia’s attack on Ukraine with the Holocaust and accusing Moscow ofVolodymyr Zelenskyy gave a speech to Israeli parliamentarians equating Russia’s attack on Ukraine with the Holocaust.
Those are provocative words to say to lawmakers in a Jewish state, and, not surprisingly, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett pushed back. While Bennett said he understands that Zelenskyy is “a leader who is fighting for the life of his country,” he asserted, “I personally believe that it is forbidden to equate the Holocaust to anything.
Still, it is important to point out that while Zelenskyy’s comparison is perhaps understandable, it is not correct. What is happening in Ukraine is horrific and almost certainly evidence of war crimes — but it is not genocide, and it is not comparable to the Holocaust. The speech was not the first time Zelenskyy had made such direct comparisons to Nazi Germany. After the Russians bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol, he said the heinous act was “theZelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, echoed his boss’s views, claiming: “Ukrainians are falling victim to Russia’s evil war just as the Jews fell victim to Nazis who wanted to eradicate all Jews. The Russian invaders are motivated and instructed to commit acts of genocide against Ukrainians.