Bennett expects large wave of Jewish settlers from Ukraine
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The Israeli Prime Minister reports his third phone call with Zelensky in 24 hours.
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Naftali Bennett, Israeli Prime Minister.
Today, Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced that he had a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which is the phone call between the two within the last 24 hours.
Yesterday, extended consultations between Bennett and Russian President Vladimir Putin were held in Moscow. The Israeli Prime Minister then headed to Germany, where he met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
At the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting, Bennett said in his speech that he went to Moscow with the aim of assisting the talks between the parties, noting that he will not give details. However, he said that "Israel" will continue to provide assistance as required from them, according to Israeli media.
Read more: Moscow resents mediation over Ukraine, especially an Israeli one
He continued to say that even if the "chances are not great," he perceives that "Israel" has a "moral responsibility to make every attempt" because he has good contacts with both sides of the conflict.
The current administration is preparing scenarios to absorb different numbers of Jewish Ukrainians immigrating from the war.
“This is a challenge for the State of Israel, but it is a challenge that we withstood in the past, time after time,” he said. “Moments like this, in which the world is facing an upheaval and Jews are no longer safe where they are, remind all of us how important it is that there is a home for Jews, whoever they are, and how important it is that we have the State of Israel.”
Bennett stressed the importance of having a "home for Jews wherever they are," capitalizing on the importance of "Israel's" existence.
On Vienna
Regarding the Vienna Talks, Bennett said that something positive happened over the weekend: the Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, visited Tehran and decided not to comply with the Iranian demand to put a lid on cases under political pressure, as per his claims.
He continued to say that the Israeli position on the agreement is well-known - the disadvantages of the agreement outweight the advantages, pointing out that the agreement does not "bind" with "Israel in any way."
Read more: 'Israel': Ukraine crisis pushes attention away from Vienna talks
Zelensky's rallying cry for Jews
After being left to face Russia militarily alone by the US, NATO and other alleged supporters, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, himself Jewish, attempts to mobilize Jews around the world to fight in his war.
“I am now addressing all the Jews of the world. Don’t you see what is happening? That is why it is very important that millions of Jews around the world not remain silent right now,” he said on Wednesday. “Nazism is born in silence. So shout about killings of civilians. Shout about the murders of Ukrainians.”
Taking an alarmist approach toward the conflict, Zelensky accused Putin and the Russian army of genocide. “They know nothing about our capital. About our history. But they have an order to erase our history. Erase our country. Erase us all,” he said.
The elephant in the room
While Zelensky compares the Russian operation to Nazism, an openly neo-Nazi Azov Battalion looms in the background, away from the media spotlight.
The Azov Battalion is a part of the Ukrainian National Guard - a wing of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, an authorized, legitimate part of the Ukrainian security apparatus - and, openly Nazi.
The Battalion flaunts its Nazism very openly and is even notoriously known for a video in which they crucified a soldier, tortured him, and burnt him alive.
The Ukrainian National Guard has recently published a video on its official Twitter page, boasting about Azov fighters greasing their bullets with pig fat to be used against Muslim Chechens on the Russian side. These fighters are a target of Putin's denazification campaign in Ukraine.
The video comes as a direct threat to Muslims who hold the Islamic beliefs that lard is an impure substance prohibited for their consumption.
The United States and Canada over the years have aided the neo-Nazi units with weapons and training, strengthening their presence in Ukraine, while NATO does not raise the alarming issue of Nazism in Ukraine, which Zelensky has lost control of.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
