"Jews under control": Lukashenka Is an antisemite, and it's easy to prove

Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni also responded:

"World leaders must take responsibility for combating antisemitism, which is rearing its ugly head in various parts of the world, rather than encouraging it."

"Zisser Is behaving dishonorably"

During his annual address to parliament in 2015, Lukashenka once again made disparaging remarks about Jews—this time targeting Yury Zisser, the founder of the Tut.by portal. His frustration stemmed from the website's criticism of Lukashenka's decree imposing a tax on citizens working fewer than 183 days a year.

"Semyon Borisovich, I see that Zisser is behaving dishonorably. I asked you a year ago to put all Jews in Belarus under control," Lukashenka told the head of the Minsk region's administration, Siamion Shapira.

"We are working on it," Shapira smiled in response.

Following this, Boris Gersten, head of the Union of Belarusian Jewish Organizations, defended Lukashenka, claiming that his words were merely an emotional outburst:

"I don't think this reflects his beliefs because, judging by his actions, he appears very tolerant. In reality, we do not see manifestations of antisemitism here in Belarus."

Yury Zisser, however, expressed concern over such statements.

Human rights activist Tatyana Revyako later submitted a request to the Prosecutor General's Office of Belarus to investigate whether Lukashenka's words contained elements of a crime under Article 130 of the Criminal Code (inciting racial, national, or religious hatred).

Predictably, the prosecutor's office responded that Lukashenka's statement did not violate any laws.

"Jews ruled the world"

During his speech at the Mound of Glory on Independence Day in 2021, Lukashenka compared the memory of World War II to the memory of the Holocaust, claiming that the whole world "bows down to the Jews," who had "ruled the world and the media."

He spoke about Belarusians' role in fighting the Nazis and proposed opening an investigation into the "genocide of the Belarusian people."

"The Jews managed to prove it. The whole world bows down to them today; people are even afraid to point a finger at them. And we are so tolerant, and kind and never want to offend anyone. We ended up being the ones who were offended," Lukashenka said.

Israel's Foreign Ministry condemned these statements as unacceptable.

"Armenians are smart because there are no Jews there"

In December 2023, at a Eurasian Economic Council meeting in St. Petersburg, Lukashenka attempted to "praise" Armenians but inexplicably brought Jews into the conversation.

Discussing Armenia's political and economic situation, he stated:

"If Armenia wants to die economically, we could lose it. But I don't think Armenians are stupid people. Armenians are smart people. After all, there isn't a single Jew there. Do you know why there are no Jews in Armenia? Because Armenians are the smartest people."

However, Israeli media outlet 7kanal.co.il pointed out that Armenia has a Jewish community of about 400 people, contradicting Lukashenka's claim.

"Jews and corruption"

In May 2024, during a government meeting, Lukashenka addressed Ihar Brylo, an official from the Vitebsk region involved in a corruption scandal. While criticizing corruption, he once again brought up Jews:

"Forgive me, I am not an antisemite, but more than half of those involved are Jews. Do they have some special privileged status that allows them to steal and not think about their future? The law is the same for everyone—Jews, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Russians, and Poles."

The JNS news agency reported that Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz condemned Lukashenka's remarks as "unacceptable, outrageous, and antisemitic."

Lukashenka's stance on Israel's war with Hamas

Belarusian state propaganda has consistently taken an anti-Israeli stance since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war.

For example, the state newspaper Minskaya Pravda wrote that "Palestine's victory is a victory for Moscow and Minsk", though the article was later removed.