Israelinfo On Lukashenka's Anti-Semitism: Europe Hasn't Heard Such Words Since Hitler's Time

Israel has responded.

Lukashenka allowed himself a rude anti-Semitic outburst, which Europe has not heard since Hitler's time, writes the Israeli edition of israelinfo. Speaking at the "anti-corruption meeting," he said that it's mostly Jews who steal in Belarus.

Lukashenka said that he is "not anti-Semitic," but the facts are clear - more than half of the accused in the corruption case in Vitsebsk region are Jews. "Do they have a special, privileged position in our country, that they steal and don't think about their future?" he said.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry reacted with a formal protest: Deputy Head of the Foreign Ministry's Euro-Asian Division Yuval Fuchs told the Belarusian ambassador that Israel considers Lukashenka's words "outrageous and unacceptable," seeing in them "a clear manifestation of anti-Semitism."

"The Belarusian dictator's outburst is a disturbing symptom. Taking advantage of Israel's isolation in the international arena, populist dictators are trying to restore the legitimacy of anti-Semitic incitement, lost after the Holocaust," the newspaper writes.