This week, as the victory mark on Nazi Germany nears, the Rishon Lezion City Council member on behalf of "Yisrael Beiteinu" asked to raise the flag of the USSR over the municipal building. Similar embarrassing claims have been voiced by other party activists in other cities as well. Hopefully they will not be obeyed, and we will not have to predict disgrace.

the defeat of Nazi beast in May 1945 was a seminal event in the history of the world. for the Jews, the Allied victory came late, but if it were not a victory, the death toll of our people would even number menace 6,000,000. therefore, good Israel did when it decided a few years ago Announce the date of victory over Germany officially Israelis to look for, and our gratitude fighters allied armies, who have achieved this victory through enormous sacrifice, no doubt.

Respecting the memory of World War II heroes does not mean raising red flags over Israeli government symbols. I don't know what's more about this proposal - cynicism or stupidity. The USSR, by the way, was not alone in the campaign against the Nazis. The victory was the result of a great effort by some powers and states, including the United Kingdom, the United States and others. For some reason in "Israel our house" they do not offer respect for them either from ignorance or from intentional intent. 

Let us not forget that some 500,000 Jews fought the Nazis in the Red Army, and some of these veterans now live among us. At the same time, we will remember the 550,000 Jewish soldiers in the US Army, and the other Jewish fighters who did not need red flags, including the fighters from Israel in the British Army. We should also forget the rate of USSR victims in dealing with Germany, which was the highest of all. Israel remembers this sacrifice and commemorates it in proper and proper ways. Red flags are not needed for this. Only a few months ago, the heads of state inaugurated the memorial in memory of the Leningrad siege, adding another tier to the fabric of memory and recognition. The Russian president, who attended the ceremony, could not stop the tears of excitement. 

However, in the history of the last century, and in the history of the Jewish people in particular, the Red Flags of the USSR had other functions, very far from the liberation of the Nazi evil. Prior to World War II, after (and even during) these crimes were committed to the extent unknown to mankind, first and foremost My people in the USSR itself. Millions of innocent people were murdered in the name of the Red Flag, including many Jews. The ideology behind it sought to eradicate the Jewish people - if not its body, as the Nazis wanted, then in its spirit. Anti-Semitic campaigns were conducted in the shadow of the Red Flag in an attempt to undermine every remnant and remembrance of Jewish heritage, and if that flag continued to reign - who knows, perhaps the attempt would be successful. Along with the effort to kill the Jewish spirit, the Soviet empire has also fought us practically through tremendous assistance to Arab states and terrorist organizations. 

Both of my grandparents fought in the Red Army against the Nazis, and if they were alive today, a red flag would be the last thing they would like to see over an official institution in Israel. The Red Flag of the USSR was and remains a complete contradiction to Zionism and the national revival of the Jewish people. To place it above an Israeli governmental institution means to blight the crimes committed on its behalf and to harm the memory of millions of its victims.