Published 18 June 2024 at 13.55
Foreign. Israel condemns Aleksandr Lukashenko after the Belarusian president singled out Jews as overrepresented in the field of corruption.
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It was during a cabinet meeting on Saturday that Alexander Lukashenko addressed the problem, JNS reports.
– Here is a list of 36 people involved in corruption, he said, referring to his former aide and Minister of Agriculture Igor Barillo, among others.
p>The president continued:
– Excuse me, I don't consider myself anti-Semitic, but more than half of them are Jews. Do they have a special, privileged role, is it that they steal and do not think about their future? Do they have privileges? It should be the same for all peoples living in Belarus. Jews, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Russians and Poles.
Jews are today a very small minority in Belarus.
Alexander Lukashenko's actions create anger in Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz described the statement as “unacceptable” and “outrageous,” noting that it appeared to be “clearly anti-Semitic comments.”
In 2021, Israel also raged against the Belarusian president after he said that the “Jews” after World War II managed to make the whole world “bow down” to them.
– Today the whole world bows down to them, people are even afraid to point at them. While we are so tolerant, so kind, we didn't want to offend anyone, he said then.