Jerusalem, 17 June, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Foreign Ministry summoned Belarusian Ambassador Yuri Yaroshevich for a reprimand following remarks by President Alexander Lukashenko that Israel called antisemitic and outrageous.
Foreign Ministry Director General Eden Bar Tal said Lukashenko’s comparisons of Israel’s war in Gaza to the Holocaust were “despicable and unacceptable statements,” stressing the Holocaust cannot be equated with Israel’s fight against terrorism.
In an interview with Al-Arabiya, Lukashenko said, “Israel needs to be more careful and more cautious here. They have already received such a reputation in the international community that there is nowhere further to fall after bombing Gaza. It is a Holocaust.”
He added, “What Holocaust can Israelis speak of when they have killed so many people, especially women and children? They have wiped everything off the face of the Earth there.”