Yad Vashem says it is suspending ties to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich
Roman Abramovich, former owner of Chelsea, smiles following the team’s victory during the UEFA Champions League in Porto, Portugal, May 29, 2021. (Alexander Hassenstein – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
(JTA) — The Israeli Holocaust museum and historical authority Yad Vashem is suspending its philanthropic partnership with Roman Abramovich as the Russian-Israeli oligarch is hit with sanctions in the United Kingdom aimed at isolating Russian President Vladimir Putin and people close to him.
Abramovich, who made billions in the Russian oil industry but has denied that he was ever part of Putin’s inner circle, was in the process of donating tens of millions of dollars to Yad Vashem, the museum announced last month. British court documents have concluded that Abramovich has had “privileged access” to Putin over the years.
Yad Vashem has faced blowback over the donation, and the Israeli news reports that it had lobbied against sanctions for Abramovich, in the days since Putin invaded neighboring Ukraine.
“In light of recent developments, Yad Vashem has decided to suspend its strategic partnership with Mr. Roman Abramovich,” the center said in a statement on Thursday.
That announcement came hours after the U.K. froze the assets and banned travel of Abramovich and six other Russia oligarchs.
Abramovich, worth around $12 billion, has reportedly donated hundreds of millions of dollars to Jewish institutions and causes in his native Russia. In recent years he has spent time in Israel, where he owns multiple properties, including the most expensive estate ever sold in the country. He has also donated $100 million to a group working to bolster Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem.
The asset freeze also puts the ownership transfer of England’s famed Chelsea soccer team, which Abramovich owns but said last week he would sell, in limbo. Abramovich had set up a major campaign through the club aimed at combating antisemitism in soccer.
On Wednesday, fellow Russian-Israeli energy businessman Leonid Nevzlin renounced his Russian citizenship, writing, “Everything that Putin touches dies.” Nevzlin was one of the first oligarchs to leave Russia in the early 2000s in response to Putin’s crackdown on political dissent. Israel has ignored Russia’s attempts to extradite him.
“I am against the war. I am against the occupation. I am against the genocide of the Ukrainian people,” Nevzlin said.
Western powers have dealt crippling sanctions on Russian businesses and individuals in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24.
—
The post Yad Vashem says it is suspending ties to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich after he is hit with UK sanctions appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
