Israeli Ambassador to Belarus Alex Goldman-Shayman was flamed on social media following his interview on Belarusian state TV in which he promised to deepen ties with the regime that two weeks ago arrested Raman Pratasevich, a prominent opponent of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko.
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The airliner in which Pratasevich was traveling was diverted to Minsk after a bomb threat, in what the opposition and Western officials denounced as a hijacking operation by the government.
To make matters worse, Goldman-Shayman's interview was aired a few hours after Pratasevich was forced to give an interview on another state channel.
Referring to the event in honor of 30 years of cooperation between Israel and Belarus, the ambassador said: "We discussed tourism … Many Israelis travel to Minsk, and I think it would be interesting for them to meet people that are familiar with Israel, who lived and worked here."
He also said, "a common past and memories unite the people of Israel and Belarus," and expressed hope that murals would soon appear on the walls of the capital to reflect the close relationship between the two nations.
Hundreds took to social media in shock, and Israel's Foreign Ministry's Facebook page was flooded with angry comments.
"Mr. Ambassador, how are you not ashamed?" wrote one user from Minsk. "There are no words to describe the shame. It is absurd to see such behavior from a country that constantly fights for its rights and suffered so much from fascism," another Belarusian user wrote.
More comments included, "Is this the ambassador of a nation that survived the Holocaust?" and "The ambassador is constantly working on creating antisemitism in Belarus."
Goldman-Shayman also caused outrage in November 2020, when he presented his credentials to the Belarusian president and was accused of "shaking hands with a murderer."
Pratasevich's arrest harnessed unprecedented sanctions on Belarus from the European Union, the United States, England and more. Many airlines stopped flying to the country altogether. Of the 44 destination countries Belavia – Belarus' national airline – used to have, only nine remained, including Israel. The Jewish state did not condemn the arrest either.
Many Israelis also took to social media to express their shock and anger.
"Ths is a disgrace for Israel to be cooperating with fascists," one user wrote. "The fact that Israel cooperates with the dictatorship of Lukashenko, who commits serious crimes against civilians, is a shame and a disgrace. Unbelievable," another user wrote.
More comments included, "How can you speak of tourism with someone who can kidnap you on the street and imprison you?", "Even Hamas condemned Lukashenko, but our country is reaching out to cooperate with him," and "I am ashamed to be Israeli."
In his 90-minute interview, Pratasevich said, "I am cooperating absolutely fully and openly." He said he wanted to "live an ordinary, calm life, have a family, children, stop running away from something." He then covered his face with his hands and wept.
"In many moments, [Lukashenko] acted like a man with balls of steel," Pratsevich said. Asked by the interviewer if he respects the president, he said, "certainly."
Signs of torture were clearly visible on Pratasevich's wrists. His father, Dmitry, who lives in Poland, was concerned about his son's well-being and was certain that he was tortured into saying what he said.
Israelis of Belarusian origin have contacted the Foreign Ministry dozens of times to adopt a new approach to their relationship with the regime, but to no avail. Israel Hayom reached out to the Foreign Ministry for a statement. If and when that statement is given, it will be published here.
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