Putin accompanies Netyanhu to Jewish museum

Monitoring Desk
Tuesday - January 30, 2018
MOSCOW (Russia): Russian president Vladimir Putin and Israeli prime minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu, who arrived in Russia on a short working visit, visited the Jewish museum and tolerance centre on Monday, whereat Netanyahu agreed, “I think that the main lesson of the rise of the Nazis and, afterwards, their defeat, is that one needs to take a strong and timely stand against murderous ideologies;” an official statement said.

According to detail, Israeli PM said, “I very much appreciate this invitation and your personal appearance in the Jewish museum and tolerance center, which reflects our common struggle against the greatest evil that humanity has known, and the awful price paid by my people, the Jewish people, and the Russian people and the great sacrifice of 20 million Russians alongside our 6 million, and the heroism of the Red Army in achieving victory over the Nazis.”

He mentioned, “We see here this very moving presentation of documents from the Sobibor uprising in which a Jewish Red Army officer led – against all odds – the successful breakout, the breakout to freedom.”

Netanyahu asserted, “This is also our mission today and it is to this end that I want to speak with you, about our common efforts to promote security and stability in our region, and – of course – the cooperation between us, between Russia and Israel.”

“Our talks, which we hold periodically, in my view, greatly contribute to achieving these goals and I am certain that they will do so now as well,” he concluded.

The leaders of Russia and Israel were shown a plan of the Nazi-built camp for Jews and prisoners of war, which was drawn based on descriptions by the surviving prisoners.

One of the exhibition stands recounts in detail the timeline of the events of October 1943, when 420 people managed to escape capture, as well as the fate of those who didn’t make it.

The exposition has Alexander Pechersky’s manuscript and personal belongings on display.

Putin and Netanyahu watched a documentary about Sobibor and an interview with the son of one of the surviving participants of the uprising.

In addition, Russian Rabbi chief Berel Lazar, Russian Jewish communities federation president Alexander Boroda and museum board of trustees chairman Viktor Vekselberg told Putin about the future memorial in honour of resistance heroes in Nazi concentration camps and Jewish ghettos.

The ceremony for laying the first stone took place on the museum grounds, earlier.

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