TEL AVIV, March 7. (RIA Novosti, Ratmir Orestov) – On Monday, Israel’s Union of War Veterans in Tel Aviv hosted the first ceremony to award Russian medals devoted to the 60th anniversary of Victory in WWII to Israeli veterans.
Israel has one of the world’s largest contingents of WWII veterans, Russia’s Ambassador to Tel Aviv Gennady Tarasov said. On behalf of the Russian government he congratulated the war veterans, those who worked on the home front, partisans and prisoners of concentration camps and ghettos.
In the coming days, the Russian Embassy will award medals to 21,000 veterans.
The chairman of the Union’s international relations commission, Yakov Maniovich, addressed the Russian authorities with words of gratitude. “The 60th anniversary of the Great Victory is not just an important landmark since Nazi Germany was defeated. We also celebrate the salvation of all Jewish people from complete extermination,” he said.
“We view these anniversary medals as a high assessment of our contribution to defeating Nazism and saving Jewry, which meant the state of Israel could be established,” Mr. Maniovich emphasized.
Veteran Mikhail Muller was particularly honored at the ceremony. Apart from the anniversary medal, the Russian ambassador handed him the Patriotic War Order 1st Class and the Order of the Red Star, which found their owner 60 years after they had been issued.
The orders of 1944 and 1945 read that Muller was awarded for “carrying out in an exemplary manner combat missions on fronts against the Nazi aggressors, and displaying courage and heroism.”
“I did everything I could for the country where I grew up and fought, and was wounded five times,” the veteran said. “Now I am happy and proud because the Russian government and the Russian Embassy representing it in Israel have remembered me and made efforts so that I could receive these high awards.”