Israel rebukes Belarus’s Lukashenko for ‘Gaza is a holocaust’ comments, dicussion of ‘Jewish lobby’

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has ignited international outrage with his deeply disturbing comparison of the Holocaust to Israel's actions in Gaza. In a wide-ranging interview with Al Arabiya, Lukashenko stated, "Israel must be a little more careful. They already have a bad reputation in the world because of the bombing of Gaza. It is a holocaust." He questioned why the world speaks of the Holocaust suffered by Israelis when they themselves have killed so many women and children in Gaza.

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Israel must be a little more careful. They already have a bad reputation in the world because of the bombing of Gaza. It is a holocaust. Why do we speak about the Holocaust suffered by the Israelis while they themselves have killed so many people, women, and above all, children have died in the Gaza Strip?

Israel's Foreign Ministry responded swiftly and forcefully, calling Lukashenko's remarks "unacceptable and deeply disturbing." The ministry emphasized that Belarus, a nation that experienced the horrors of the Holocaust on its own soil, should be particularly sensitive to such comparisons. "Any comparison between the Holocaust of the Jewish people and Israel’s just war against terrorism must be unequivocally rejected," the statement declared.

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the remarks made by the President of Belarus – a country that knows all too well the horrors of the Holocaust committed on its own soil – in his interview with Al Arabiya are unacceptable and deeply disturbing. Any comparison between the Holocaust of the Jewish people and Israel’s just war against terrorism must be unequivocally rejected.

Adding to the controversy, Lukashenko also revived what Israel's Foreign Ministry termed "vile, outdated antisemitic conspiracies." He suggested that Israel had provoked the United States into the Middle East conflict, attributing this to the powerful "Israel lobby" and "Jewish lobby" in the U.S. This is not the first time Lukashenko has faced criticism for antisemitic remarks. In June 2024, he was reprimanded for claiming Jews "steal without thinking," questioning their presence among corruption suspects in Belarus.

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Israel provoked the United States. The Israel lobby in the US, the Jewish lobby, is very strong in the United States. They are rich and powerful people in the United States, and they do have influence.