KIEV, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commended here Ukraine's great contribution to the fight against antisemitism, local media reported Monday.
Netanyahu made the remarks during his visit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to a memorial at Babi Yar in Kiev, where tens of thousands of Jews were murdered here during World War II, said Interfax Ukraine News Agency.
The executions in Babi Yar allowed the Nazis to continue to kill Jews throughout Ukraine. "Jews have lived in the Ukrainian neighborhoods for hundreds of years. They created communities, parties, Hasidism and Zionism movements. And all that was created for a long time was destroyed by the Nazis in a moment," Netanyahu was quoted as saying.
Jews would never forget these crimes and would always remember those who risked their lives and their families to save them, he said.
The Israeli prime minister then thanked Zelensky and the Ukrainian government for preserving the memory of the great tragedy and said that Ukraine made a big contribution to fighting antisemitism, according to the media.
Noting hundreds of thousands of people were shot in Babi Yar, Zelensky called on the international community to work together to fight against antisemitism, media said.
Netanyahu's visit to Kiev is the first by a sitting Israeli prime minister in 20 years.
He will also meet with his counterpart Volodymyr Groysman on Aug. 20 and leave Ukraine the same day.
