Netanyau, Ukrainian president lay memorial wreaths at Babi Yar

Prime Minister Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lay memorial wreaths at Babi Yar, where more than 30,000 Jews were killed in two days in 1941 during the Holocaust.

“My heart aches from all the events that occurred here,” Zelensky says at the site in Kiev. “It’s impossible to forget, and impossible to forgive, too.”

He also mentions that Ukraine has the fourth-highest number of Righteous Among the Nations and vows to fight anti-Semitism.

At the ceremony, which is attended by many local Jewish leaders and Natan Sharansky, a former Jewish Agency head and former lawmaker, Netanyahu says the world saw the Holocaust but remained silent.

“I say in a clear voice, especially here, it’s our obligation to stand up to murderous ideologies so there won’t be another Babi Yar… we’ll always defend ourselves against any tormentors,” Netanyahu says.

“We will never forget the suffering of our people, but at the same we will honor those righteous who risked their lives to rescue our people,” he adds.

The prime minister thanks Zelensky for the Ukrainian government’s efforts to commemorate the Holocaust and fight anti-Semitism. He says he discussed with Sharansky the possibility of erecting a new monument at Babi Yar, “to serve as symbol for all humankind.”

— Raphael Ahren