Labor MKs urge option of joining Russia sanctions amid alleged massacres in Ukraine
Lawmakers cite Bucha killings, say there’s ‘no two sides,’ in apparent rebuke of Liberman’s equivocation; senior Kyiv officials reportedly in Israel to discuss refugees, sanctions
Knesset members from the coalition’s center-left Labor party led calls on Tuesday for Israel to consider joining sanctions imposed on Moscow in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, as international condemnation grew over apparent massacres of Ukrainian civilians by Russian troops.
In his call for Israel to consider joining sanctions efforts, MK Gilad Kariv appeared to reference widely panned comments by coalition partner Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman, who said on Monday that there were “mutual accusations” from both Ukraine and Russia.
“The images of horror from Ukraine require a decisive response — in this matter there are no ‘two sides!'” tweeted Kariv, chair of the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee. “I call on the Israeli government to take a firm and unequivocal stance condemning Russia. We must significantly expand humanitarian aid, expand the quota of refugees and consider joining the sanctions regime.”
Earlier, Labor MK Naama Lazimi tweeted that Israel should be clear in its condemnation of alleged war crimes in Ukraine, and should join the sanctions efforts.
“When war crimes are committed one should not be ‘careful’ in their choice of wording. You have to shout it out loud,” Lazmi tweeted.
“The horrific atrocities described and seen from Bucha and other places in Ukraine, the deliberate massacre, the mass shooting, the mass graves and the bodies in the streets are war crimes. Israel must do everything it can — from clear condemnation to sanctions and aid,” the MK wrote.
Videos and photos have recently emerged of streets in the town of Bucha strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians, some with their hands tied behind their back.
According to Ukraine’s prosecutor-general, Iryna Venediktova, the bodies of 410 civilians have been removed from Bucha and other Kyiv-area towns that were recently retaken from Russian troops.
The images have led to global revulsion and calls for tougher sanctions on Russia.
In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, Western countries applied crushing economic sanctions targeting Moscow’s financial institutions including its central bank, shipping and trade industry, tech and aviation sectors, and community of wealthy oligarchs and their circles.
Russia has been frozen out of international banking systems, causing the ruble to plummet in value.
However, Israel has avoided joining Western sanctions against Russian oligarchs, though Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has said Israel will not serve as a route to bypass sanctions.
Meanwhile, two senior Ukrainian officials were in Israel in recent days to hold talks with Israeli officials and ministers on the matter of refugees and sanctions, the Kan public broadcaster said Monday, noting that the two were close advisers to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The report said that while the officials raised requests for aid, particularly defensive equipment, the two main issues under discussion were whether Israel’s refugee program could be widened, alongside a request for sanctions on Russia.
US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said last month that Israel should get onboard with Western sanctions, and bar Russian oligarchs. “You don’t want to become the last haven for dirty money that’s fueling Putin’s wars,” Nuland said.
But Jerusalem was not planning to impose sanctions on Moscow or Russian oligarchs, senior Israeli officials told The Times of Israel at the time.
Among the sanctioned is Israeli-Russian businessman Roman Abramovich, Israel’s wealthiest citizen. Abramovich made billions in the Russian oil industry but has denied that he was ever part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.
Israel has walked a tightrope between Russia and Ukraine throughout the course of the war. There are Jewish communities in both nations and Russia maintains a heavy military presence in Syria, on Israel’s northern border, where the IDF is seeking to continue its aerial sorties against Iran-backed targets. This has enabled Israel to assume the role of mediator between the two warring parties.
While Lapid has become increasingly vocal in his condemnations of Russia, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has been careful not to publicly accuse Moscow.
The Times of Israel Community.