In a recent interview, a Russian general accused the Ukrainian military of harvesting the organs of Russian POWs and sending them to labs in Israel. After being divested of their organs, the bodies were burned “like in Auschwitz” since “they are heirs of Hitler.”
Ynet News reported on Thursday that in an interview with Russian outlet Moskovskij Komsomolets, retired Major General of Police, and ex-head of the Russian Central Bureau of Interpol Vladimir Ovchinsky that the Ukrainian military collects human organs that were harvested from the dead and wounded in the war. These organs, taken from Russian prisoners of war and even Ukrainian civilians while they are still alive, are sent overseas for processing, destined to be used as organ transplants.
“The most effective and successful ‘workshops’ are located in four countries – Turkey, India, Israel and South Korea,” Ovchinsky said. “Israel is also a leader in the field of innovative medical techniques, which are used throughout the world. The clinics of this country successfully perform organ transplant operations.”
He claimed that this was the motive behind Israel providing medical equipment to Ukraine for its war effort.
He was asked what is done with the bodies after the viable organs are harvested.
“They burn them like in Auschwitz or Dachau, they are after all heirs of Hitler,” Ovchinsly said. “There is also information about mobile crematoria to burn the remains of people whose organs were removed.”
Ovchinsky claimed that networks of “black-market” medical businesses have prospered in Ukraine under the cover of international humanitarian organizations.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in response: “We consider the attempts to tarnish Israel with such baseless atrocity publications very severe. The Israeli embassy in Moscow will raise the issue with the relevant officials in the Russian government. The ministry brought the issue in front of the Russian ambassador.”
These libelous accusations of Israeli organ harvesting come from both sides of the conflict and have been perpetuated in major media. In December 2009, Haaretz reported that several Ukrainian Web sites claimed Israel brought some 25,000 Ukrainian children into the country over the course of two years in order to harvest their organs. The online articles cited a Ukrainian philosophy professor based in Kyiv.
Haaretz reported that the online rumors began following a report in a Swedish tabloid alleging that Israel Defense Forces soldiers have killed Palestinian civilians for their organs. This came at the same time that Egyptian media reported that Israeli doctors were barred from attending a medical conference in Egypt due to claims that Israel was harvesting the organs of Palestinians.These unsubstantiated claims are consistent with ancient and recurring blood libels falsely accusing Jews of murdering Christian boys in order to use their blood in the performance of religious rituals, typically for use in baking Matzot for Passover. Most such libels took place in the Middle Ages and resulted in deadly pogroms.
