- Title: ISRAEL: Red Army veterans proud to host Putin in Israeli town.
- Date: 25th June 2012
- Summary: FISHMAN HOLDING PAPER CLIPS ALBUM PICTURE OF RED ARMY SOLDIERS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) SHLOMO FISHMAN, RED ARMY VETERAN AND CEO OF THE ASSOCIATION OF WORLD WAR TWO HANDICAPPED IN ISRAEL, SAYING: "These questions (violence in Syria) need to be solved peacefully in the international arena because there is endless bloodshed over there, people are getting killed, and we know
- Embargoed: 10th July 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Israel
- Country: Israel
- Topics: International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA3G71O4GJHDGBZ8TRHDOGT0HSH
- Story Text: The coastal Israeli city of Netanya, usually shy of international attention, is about to enter the spotlight with a rare visit by Russian President Valdimir Putin, planned for Monday (June 25).
Last minute preparations were underway in the city of 200,000 residents, where the Russian President is expected to inaugurate a monument of victory commemorating the triumph of the Red Army over Nazi Germany during the Second World War.
The monument was designed by Russian artists Salavat Scherbakov, Vasiliy Perfiliev and Michail Naroditsky, and constructed by a local artist Chen Winkler.
The Israeli government decided to place the monument in Netanya due to the large number of Red Army veterans and Holocaust survivors who reside there. Official Israeli sources estimate over 500,000 Jews fought in the Red Army, with a large but ever declining number of them still living in Israel.
"The veterans' dream was that here in Netanya, in Israel, the monument for the heroic Red Army, with which we fought against Nazi Germany, will be built," said Shlomo Fishman, a Red Army veteran who participated in breaking the siege over Leningrad in 1944.
Fishman, over 90 years old, is heading the Israeli Association of World War Two Handicapped and finds great pride in his involvement.
"It's a great pride that he is coming here and that he had initiated the establishment of the memorial and museum for the heroic Red Army," he said.
Amid growing international criticism over Russia's unwillingness to cooperate with the West in order to stop Russian President Bashar al-Assad's violence towards his people, Fishman is careful not to make any political statements. But as a veteran, he recalls the horrors of war.
"These questions (violence in Syria) need to be solved peacefully in the international arena because there is endless bloodshed over there, people are getting killed, and we know well what war is like," he said.
The monument was first discussed in February 2011, during a state visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Moscow. The design was chosen by a panel of Israeli and Russian officials, and the one-million U.S. dollar structure was funded by the Netanya municipality along with donations from Jewish communities abroad.
At the time, Putin vowed to attend the inauguration of the monument, and it is considered the main reason for his brief two day visit to Israel and the West Bank.
Sculptor Chen Winkler who constructed the monument, said that the project -- of almost 15 meters high and more than 320 tone of stone -- was not only very complex but also had to be completed on schedule.
"We have worked at a crazy pace here in order to complete such a project within six months, because all along we knew that Putin was planning to arrive and inaugurate the monument. We worked to a very tight schedule," he said.
Winkler explained that the exterior of the monument symbolises two white wings of triumph, while the interior is telling two stories engraved in bronze. The northern wall tells the story of the Jewish Holocaust and includes many familiar elements, such as a Jewish child holding his hands up in surrender. On the southern wall, there's the story of the war, including bombings of Russian cities, soldiers recruitment and eventually the victory over Nazi Germany.
"An experience of creation, which I can say that for me as an artist (is) an asset that will remain for generations to come. Such a statue -- my grandchildren and great grand children will be able to come here and learn and to connect to our history. Our privileges today (exist) thanks to what had happened then," Winkler said.
Putin will land in Israel early on Monday (June 25), and after the ceremonial inauguration of the monument is expected to hold meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres, who will also host a dinner. On Tuesday (June 26), Putin is expected to travel to the West Bank town of Bethlehem, where he will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas before travelling by car to Jordan. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None