Israel has been largely silent Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko's brutal crackdown of protesters following his rigged re-election in August, but on Saturday, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin's name appeared on a list of foreign leaders who congratulated the dictator for his country's national holiday.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
According to the presidential palace in Minsk, Rivlin reportedly wished the Belarussian people prosperity and also expressed his best wishes to Lukashenko. The palace proudly touted the greetings from Israel, which appeared alongside similar words from Iran, Syria, the Palestinian Authority, Cuba and Nicaragua, as well as a handful of other countries that support the pariah regime, such as Russia and Turkey.
Although the UN secretary-general and the pope sent a congratulatory note, they did not offer any personal wishes to the Belarussian leader.
Rivlin's apparent gesture elicited outrage among anti-regime forces. The head of BY_help, which helps Belarussians cope with various acts of repression, issued an angry response. "If Rivlin did in fact phrase his greeting this way, we can now regard Israel as just a softer version of Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdogan," he said. The head of an anti-regime Telegram channel said that "Israel no longer cares about anti-Semitic statements issued by Lukashenko's propaganda machine, and does not care about it own citizens," referring to two Israelis who were recently arrested.
Rivlin's office said the greeting was "sent as part of a customary protocol in the Foreign Ministry when national holidays are celebrated in countries with which Israel has diplomatic relations."
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
