Israel tells Ukraine to take action against ‘worrying’ anti-Semitism

Jerusalem is calling on Ukrainian authorities to take “determined” action against anti-Semitism, after vandalism was discovered at three Jewish sites in Odessa.

“We view this anti-Semitism with worry,” the Foreign Ministry says in a statement. “We expect the Ukrainian government to make a most determined effort to halt the phenomenon of anti-Semitism and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

The graffiti, including the words “toasting the Holocaust” on the gate of Odessa’s Holocaust museum, were discovered Monday. The city’s Brodsky Synagogue had the words: “Jews out, Ukraine for Ukrainians” written on its exterior fence.

An offensive symbol appeared on a gate adjacent to the Beit Grand Jewish Community Center. It and the other two graffiti featured the symbol of the Azov Battalion, a National Guard of Ukraine regiment that was set up after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.

Ukraine’s government is headed by Volodymyr Groysman, who is Jewish.

— with JTA

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