Putin’s First Stop in Israel at New Red Army Memorial, Syria and Iran Come After (PHOTOS)
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Bashar Assad Benjamin Netanyahu Iran Nuclear israel Israel News Israel Visit Jewish Jewish News Jews Netanya Putin in Israel Red Army Memorial Russia Syria Russian Jewish Congress Russian Jews Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Jewish Community Centre in Moscow. Photo: wiki commons.
A historic memorial dedicated to the Red Army’s victory over Nazi forces during World War II will open next week in Netanya, Israel.
The monument is believed to be the first memorial dedicated to the Red Army’s victory over German forces during the second world war, outside of former Soviet Union states, and is the official basis for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to Israel next week.
A number of Russian billionaires, including Mikhail Fridman, Boris Mints, and German Khan, donated $600,000 to create the memorial, in conjunction with efforts made by the Russian Jewish Congress, the World Forum on Russian Jewry, and United Israel Appeal.
Israeli President Shimon Peres will join Putin and Yury Kanner, who heads the RJC, along with other state officials from both nations and Jewish leaders from around the globe, to mark the memorial’s opening in Netanya on June 25.
The Netanya memorial dedicated to the Red Army's defeat of Nazi forces during World War II. Photo: RJC.
“May 9th is ‘Victory Day’. It is very important for Russian Jews and important for all Russians. We are sponsoring a monument in Netanya, to all the Russian Jews living there – May 9th is their holy day,” Kanner told The Algemeiner in May, referring to the day in which Russians commemorate their defeat of Nazi forces during World War II.
Approximately 11 million Red Army soldiers were killed during World War II, including 120,000 Jews who were serving for the Soviet Union’s forces.
Following the event in Netanya, Putin is scheduled to travel to Jerusalem for a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the issues of Iran’s nuclear program and Russia’s continued support for Syrian President Bashar Assad are expected to dominate discussions between the two leaders.
In an interview with the Washington Post this week, Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak stated that if Russia and the United States worked together to combat Assad’s crackdown of the Syrian opposition, a viable solution to the conflict could be reached.
If “America and Russia talk[ed] together about who can use what leverage, that could be extremely effective… It’s time for the world to dictate to Mr. Assad to move out of power or else. But the ‘or else’ can be convincing only if America and Russia will join hands,” Barak told the paper.
Putin’s last visit to Israel occurred in 2005, marking the first time a Russian president stepped foot on Israeli soil.
The Netanya memorial dedicated to the Red Army's defeat of Nazi forces during World War II. Photo: RJC
The Netanya memorial dedicated to the Red Army's defeat of Nazi forces during World War II. Photo: RJC
The Netanya memorial dedicated to the Red Army's defeat of Nazi forces during World War II. Photo: RJC.
10:32 am
One cannot speak about the state of Israel without having to mention Esau, the elder twin. Esau is red like his army, a face full of blood.
2:06 am
Red army also raped many women in the end of the war.
2:30 pm
the germans were brutal to ukrainian and russian peasants/civilians. i don’t mind that the red army raped women. i wish the red army KILLED EVERY GERMAN THAT WAS ALIVE. do you know how many russians died during WWII? FIFTY MILLION.
5:15 pm
They deserved it, they were germans.
9:20 pm
Yes, the Russian Army defeated the Nazi’s. The commitment and sacrifice of the Russian people should not ever be forgotten. However, two points must not be overlooked: Russia’s initial non-aggression pact with Germany permitted the invasion of Poland and the start of World War II; and that Britain and the US had the opportunity to join with Russia first to stop the Nazi’s and it was only after the failure of Britain and the US to join with Russia that Russia entered into an agreement with Germany. The lesson here should be obvious: the EU and the US need to work harder to reach consensus with Russia, a country with essentially western values. In the long term, Russia needs to integrate with the west, of which it is a part. The US gives too much deference to the Persian Gulf States. Russia was right on Kosovo, and it is right on Syria. I could not agree more with the previous comment that Russia and the US must work in tandem towards democratic reforms in Syria in order to preserve a secular society.
8:28 pm
The figure of 120,000 Jewish Red Army dead seems like a
low figure.
I’ve seen 142,000.
Maybe the 120,000 doesn’t include POW deaths or other branches of service—-air force, etc.?