Israel perceives and marks the date of May 9 as Victory Day very seriously, and there are specific historical reasons for that.

Due to decent social security and advanced medical treatment, World War II veterans in Israel live up to 90 years of age or even longer. And I am talking about real veterans who took part in combat, not some wannabe “veterans of Hungary and Czechoslovakia” not older than 70, who have been the main decoration of Victory Day festivities in post-Soviet countries over the past several years.

A stinking breath of the “Russian world” is felt in Israel, too

However, a stinking breath of the “Russian world” is felt in Israel, too. It is persistent and has many shapes.

For example, there was a ceremony held on May 9 in the city of Netanya at the memorial to the Red Army soldiers. It was attended by Knesset deputies, as well as representatives of diplomatic missions of Russia, Belarus, and Azerbaijan.

Speaking at the event, the Russian ambassador in Israel, Alexander Shein, called the Victory in World War II "the salvation of Europe from slavery, and of the Slavic and the Jewish people - from annihilation." Then the diplomat wittily tied the Russians and the Jews with one ideological chain. "Dear Israelis,” said Alexander Shein, “71 years ago, it was unthinkable that today, the Great Victory would need protection against the falsifiers of history. This is a real threat. If a perception of that war determines in many respects the way of thinking of the whole countries, then what is the foundation they are building their future on and how will they treat the Russians and the Jews” Did you see that hint?

Then the ambassador expressed his indignation at attempts to revise the history of World War II and its outcome in a number of countries. "They deny the Holocaust history, insult the memory of the fallen Jewish heroes. In fact, besides the fact that the Red Army stopped the horrors of the Holocaust, 500,000 Jews fought in its ranks. There were 305 generals and admirals of the Jewish origin, while there were only 23 of them in the U.S. Army. 198,000 Jewish soldiers lie in the Soviet military graves on battlefields,” said Alexander Shein. “The memory of the tragic and glorious days of the great liberation war unites the peoples of Russia and strengthens their friendly relations with the people of Israel."

Very touching, indeed. But can we just forget about the many individuals and organizations in Russia, who are concerned with the issues of “friendship with the people of Israel” in a very special way? One recent manifestation of the historical love for Jews in the wannabe empire was the seizure by the prosecutors of Torah and other holy books from the library of the Jewish grammar school "Or Avner" in Yekaterinburg. The reason – checking the books for extremism. Or how about that rally in Perm where protesters demanded to impose a ban on a "Judeo-Nazi sect Chabad Lubavitch"? In fairness, there are also some “friends of Israel” of such type in Ukraine.

Anyway, the updated war statistics is impressive. It turns out, when necessary, the Russians forget about their narratives of “Jews fighting on a Tashkent front" and "Jews shooting from behind the corners with crooked rifles" which topped the Soviet wartime anti-Semitic propaganda, lingering for almost 50 years after the war ended. Now it turns out that half a million Jews actually fought in the ranks of the Red Army.

By the way, the Russian ambassador didn’t lose his chance to shove some unpleasant stats in the face of Americans. And this reminds me of an old joke: a famous Soviet orchestra director in a conversation with his American counterpart tried to refute rumors about anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union. He boasted: "For example, there are seven Jews in our orchestra that came to perform in the U.S.!" The American director sadly responded: "You know, I never counted Jews in my orchestra..."

Secondly, it is curious, how the numbers were counted and whether half-bloods and grandchildren were included in the statistics. This is also a factor, which can be subject for manipulation in different contexts

Secondly, it is curious, how the numbers were counted and whether half-bloods and grandchildren were included in the statistics. This is also a factor, which can be subject for manipulation in different contexts.

Thirdly, too bad the Russian envoy missed another opportunity to upset the Yankees. He should have recalled that Moscow has awarded about 150 Jewish soldiers of the Red Army with the title “Hero of the Soviet Union,” while Washington hasn’t!

Anyway, many of our grandfathers really fought in that war. And my dear grandfather Solomon Shumov died in the autumn of 1941, having only fought for a few months. But I would never march on May 9 with a portrait of my grandfather Solomon, with a St.George ribbon. Judging from my mother’s stories, my late gramps would not have approved.

Igor Levenshtein