Israel’s Foreign Ministry summoned Belarusian Ambassador Yuri Yaroshvich for an urgent reprimand on Monday, following what officials called shocking and antisemitic comments by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. At the direction of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, ministry director general Eden Bar Tal delivered a sharp protest over Lukashenko’s remarks, which accused the “Jewish lobby” and misused the memory of the Holocaust while leveling false claims about IDF actions against terrorism.
Bar Tal told the ambassador that Lukashenko’s statements were abhorrent and unacceptable. He said Israel firmly rejects any comparison between the horrors of the Holocaust, which also took place on Belarusian soil, and Israel’s justified war against jihadist terror. He also condemned conspiracy theories about a “Jewish lobby,” saying such language is vile and should disappear from the world.
In an interview with Al Arabiya, Lukashenko said he believed there is no military solution to the Middle East conflict and that the war between Israel and Iran should end through negotiations. He described it primarily as a war between Israel and Iran, saying the United States had been drawn in because of mistaken policy by some of its leaders.
Lukashenko also said, “They have already gained such a reputation in the world that there is nowhere left to go after they bombed Gaza,” and asked, “What Holocaust can justify the killing of so many people, especially women and children?” He added, “They erased everything there from the face of the earth.”
