Israel: conference canceled over Łukašenka’s antisemitic remarks
June 18, Pozirk. The organizers in Israel have canceled a conference marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazis because of Alaksandar Łukašenka’s recent antisemitic remark, a reliable source has told Pozirk.
The Chaim Herzog Museum of the Jewish Soldier planned to hold the conference on June 27.
It was to include a wreath-laying ceremony for Jewish partisans and ghetto fighters, a dinner and a World War II exhibition.
An association of Jewish refugees and Holocaust survivors and the All-Israeli Association of Immigrants from Belarus were organizing the conference with support from the Belarusian embassy.
Łukašenka made the controversial remark on June 14, while discussing a corruption probe involving dozens of officials.
“I beg your pardon, I’m not antisemitic, but more than half of them are Jews,” he said. “Do they have a privileged position in our country, that they steal and do not think about their future?”
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz described the statement as “unacceptable and outrageous,” jns.org reported. Such statements “sound like clear antisemitic comments,” Katz noted.
In the past, Łukašenka demonstrated his antisemitic views on several occasions. Back in 2007, he blamed Jews for turning Babrujsk, a Belarusian city with rich Jewish history, into a “pigsty.”
In 2015, he said he wanted to keep the Jewish population “under control” and reign in Jews such as the late founder of tut.by Juryj Zisier.
Opposition leader condemns Łukašenka's anti-Semitic statements
- EconomyBelarus keeps reporting fastest agricultural growth in EAEUThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBelarus ranks second in Russia-led bloc for real wage growth in H1The material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyInvestigators confirm death of Minsk half-marathon runnerThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyLithuania intercepts drone carrying 1,000 packs of Belarusian cigarettesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Society
- Politics, SocietyAt least 2,072 NGOs dissolved in Belarus since August 2020 – LawtrendThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Security, SocietyBelarusian border guards seize drone from LithuanianThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- Economy, Security
- Politics, Security
- Politics, SecurityNo signs Belarus is preparing to join Russia’s war, Kyiv saysThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyEDB attributes rise in Belarus’ gold reserves to higher pricesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietySupreme Court begins hearing “genocide” case against another deceased manThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsViasna expresses concern about health of 185 political prisonersThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityBelarus’ KGB signs two-year cooperation plan with Vietnam’s Public Security MinistryThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Society
- Politics, SecurityPoland prolongs flight restrictions along shared border with Belarus, Ukraine for another three monthsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityLithuania reports irregular crossing incidents for 10 days in a rowThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityDialogue with pro-democracy forces is important because of Belarus’ role for regional security, Ukrainian envoy saysThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyPačobut set to return to Belarus despite postponement of “unofficial” Union of Poles’ conventionThe material is available only to POZIRK+



