Hundreds of Israelis on Thursday demonstrated against the invasion of Ukraine outside the Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv. They laid the blame for the situation in Europe firmly at the feet of Vladimir Putin, who many of the protestors compared to Hitler.
Many of the demonstrators have a Ukrainian family background, and not a few Russian-speaking Israelis also took part, all chanting, “Honor to Ukraine!”
The protestors also took issue with the fact that earlier in the day, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had failed to explicitly condemn Russia in his public remarks on the conflict. However, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid had in fact condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an act that had upset the international order.
Israel continues to walk a tightrope between supporting an ally and fellow democracy in Ukraine, and protecting its own security interests by not upsetting Moscow.
Four people were arrested during the Tel Aviv protest after they spray-painted graffiti on the Russian Embassy.
