{"id":80288,"date":"2024-04-17T09:36:30","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T06:36:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/80288\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"cichanouskaja-backs-israel-lukashenka-silent-on-irans-attack","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/80288\/","title":{"rendered":"Cichano\u016dskaja backs Israel, Lukashenka silent on Iran\u2019s attack"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While Moscow has sided with Iran and other enemies of Israel, Minsk exercises caution to avoid tension with Jerusalem.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n \"\"\n
\n \n
\n (pixabay.com \/ Eduardo Castro)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the night of April 14, Iran launched a massive air attack on Israel in response to a strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria in early April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although 99 percent of the nearly 300 missiles and drones were intercepted by Israel and its allies, Iranian propaganda played up the Operation True Promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Western nations and Ukraine supported Israel. Jordan, Egypt and UN Secretary General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres condemned Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Turkish leader has been silent, while Beijing called on Iran and Israel to exercise restraint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia predictably backed Tehran, emphasizing its “right to self-defense,” just as it supported Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka keeps silent<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Upon his return from Moscow last week, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka has not commented on the Middle East escalation, which might have triggered a world war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian foreign ministry limited its response to a statement of “deep concern” and commitment to the principles of peaceful settlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The obvious failure of the Iranian attack, \u0141uka\u0161enka’s silence and the measured statement from the foreign ministry tempered Belarusian propagandists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ryhor Azaronak, who on the night of the attack expressed hope for a success of the Iranian operation, has lost interest in the topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another propagandist, Vadzim Hihin, acknowledged the success of the Israeli air defense and turned his fire against his traditional target, the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Belarusian government and propagandists failed to support Israel, opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja expressed solidarity with the Israeli people, as she did after the Hamas attack on October 7, noting similarity between Iran’s actions to Russia’s attack on Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The independent Belarusian media also took a pro-Israeli stance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minsk does not fully mirror Moscow’s stance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The position of Cichano\u016dskaja and her team was predictable. The political opponents are Western-oriented, share democratic values, and enjoy the support of many Israelis with Belarusian roots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, Cichano\u016dskaja has been rallying the support of international Jewish organizations. She sees Iran primarily as a partner of Minsk and Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minsk’s position on both the Middle East escalation and Iran appears to be much more complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Israeli Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), which monitors global reactions to Israel’s war against Hamas, concluded that Russia has supported the Jewish state’s opponents, while Belarus has taken a neutral stance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kremlin maintains ties with Hamas, sharply criticizes the Israeli military operation in Gaza, does not shy away from overtly antisemitic statements and is expanding ties with Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moscow is interested in a new war in the Middle East, expecting it to distract the West from Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kremlin defends Iran and possibly pushes it to take a more resolute action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the one hand, Minsk backs Russia’s lead in the UN on the Middle East conflict and ignores Russian anti-Israeli narratives and keeps a distance from Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other, Minsk refrains from direct verbal attacks on Jerusalem and does not openly side with Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast to Putin, the Belarusian leader has kept silent on Middle East issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minsk avoids tension with Jerusalem<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka visited Tehran in March 2023 to discuss closer economic and political ties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, Minsk’s stance on the Middle East conflict suggests that it has a certain degree of independence in its foreign policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, when the Belarusian ruler was criticized by Israel for his antisemitic remarks, Minsk tried to smooth over rifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel does not prioritize freedoms and human rights in its policy toward Belarus and can even boast of successes in its relations with Minsk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, in 2021 Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog secured the release of Israeli lawyer Maya Reiten-Stol, who had been detained in Belarus on drug smuggling charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel’s outrage forced the Belarusian government to slightly modify its concept of World War II genocide against the Belarusian people by partially abandoning the Soviet practice of ignoring the Holocaust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, Israel criticized the appointment of propagandist Hihin, who had stoked controversy with his antisemitic remarks, as head of the National Library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hihin has since avoided making controversial statements on Jewish issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* * *<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minsk’s policy toward Israel is generally inconsistent with its aggressive anti-Western rhetoric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarusian officials are unwilling to anger Jerusalem. Some of them might have been influenced by conspiracy theories that Jews rule the world, and should therefore be treated with caution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While Moscow has sided with Iran and other enemies of Israel, Minsk exercises caution to avoid tension with Jerusalem. On the night of April 14, Iran launched a massive air attack on Israel in response to a strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria in early April. Although 99 percent of the nearly 300 missiles […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[24],"class_list":["post-80288","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCichano\u016dskaja backs Israel, Lukashenka silent on Iran\u2019s attack | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"While Moscow has sided with Iran and other enemies of Israel, Minsk exercises caution to avoid tension with Jerusalem. 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