Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, under heavy international scrutiny for allegedly falsifying the Belarus elections last year as well as a long list of alleged human rights violations, also appears to have exposed some antisemitic leanings that lie at the base of his political worldview.

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Speaking recently to an assembly of youth and members of the Belarusian army to mark the victory of the Soviet Union and Belarus, which was then a part of it, in World War II, Lukashenko compared the memory of the war and the Soviet war effort to the memory of the Holocaust, claiming that Jews "ruled the world" and the media.

"The Jews managed to force the world to remember the Holocaust. The entire world grovels before them and gives in to them. They are afraid to say a single word out of place. We are tolerant and likeable. We left things alone until it got to the point where others started attacking us and the memory of our efforts," Lukashenko said.

While it is possible that Lukashenko was trying to praise Jews for their willingness to stand up for the memory of the Holocaust, he inadvertently revealed his own feelings about the supposed influence Jews exert in the world, the widespread antisemitism in eastern Europe, and its roots in writings such as "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion."

Lukashenko made his speech a few days before receiving a warm message from outgoing President Reuven Rivlin. On Monday, Israel Hayom revealed that Rivlin had sent the message under heavy pressure from the Foreign Ministry, but the reason for that pressure was unclear.

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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's crackdown on pro-democracy protests and the independent media is turning his nation into "the North Korea of Europe," the country's opposition leader told US lawmakers on Wednesday.

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Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urged tougher US and European Union sanctions targeting Lukashenko's income sources, including "cronies who finance the regime" and state-run enterprises.

She testified by telephone from Prague to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. US President Joe Biden was headed for Europe on Wednesday – his first international trip – where his discussions were expected to include Belarus. read more

Tsikhanouskaya fled into exile after Lukashenko, who has kept a tight grip on Belarus since rising to power in 1994, launched a crackdown on protesters who accused him of rigging his 2020 re-election, a vote that she widely was seen as winning.

Western powers have refused to recognize Lukashenko's victory. He denies election fraud and allegations of human rights abuses.

Lukashenko has intensified his crackdown on ongoing protests and independent media. Last month he drew international outrage by having a military aircraft force a Ryanair jet to land in Minsk, where a Belarusian social media activist aboard was arrested, prompting an EU ban on the state-run airline.

Tsikhanouskaya said that United States and EU should implement "a comprehensive and unwavering response" to force Lukashenko to hold a new election and end what she called his abuses.

"Otherwise we all will face such situations in the future as Lukashenko is turning my country into the North Korea of Europe – non-transparent, unpredictable and dangerous," she told the committee, referring to one of the world's most repressive nations.

US Ambassador to Belarus Julie Fisher, who has been refused a visa to assume her post, testified during the same hearing that Lukashenko has become ever-more reliant on backing by Russia. As a result, Fisher said, he no longer can influence Russian military actions in Belarus.

Lukashenko's "willingness to increase dependency on Russia in every possible sphere ... has brought him to the point of being in no position, really, to barely have a say in what it is Russia would decide to do militarily," Fisher said.

Russia and Belarus are planning a record number of military exercises, according to experts, have signed a strategic partnership accord, and there have been reports they are planning to open three new joint military bases.

Earlier in the day, Tsikhanouskaya told the Czech Senate that an international tribunal should be established to investigate what she called the "crimes" of Lukashenko's "dictatorship." Tsikhanouskaya was visiting Prague before a summit of the Group of Seven advanced economies in Britain this week at which Belarus is expected to be discussed.

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The official Facebook page of the Israeli Embassy in Belarus has been flooded with angry comments in the wake of Israeli Ambassador Alex Goldman-Shayman presenting his credentials to Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.

Lukashenko has been brutally suppressing the protests that erupted in the country after the latest elections demanding the resignation of the authoritarian leader. Some 30,000 protesters have been arrested, and ten civilians had been killed since the beginning of the protests more than 100 days ago.

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"What did that feel like, shaking hands with a murderer?" wrote Yulia Girenko on the embassy's official Facebook page.

"You are supporting a fascist regime," wrote Veronika Darchin, a resident of Petach Tikva.

Natalia, a student at Bar-Ilan University, wrote, "I live in Israel, and I am furious. None of my friends and family, not one person, supports the Belarusian Führer. People have to know, this has nothing to do with us, the citizens.

"How can a country with such a tragic history support a tyrant who is massacaring his people?" wrote Katya Syorkova from Minsk.

For months Israel has refrained from condemning the regime's actions in Belarus. Lukashenko's actions have been condemned by the Trump administration and the European Union, which has already imposed a series of sanctions on Belarus. Ambassadors of Namibia, Bangladesh, China, and Cambodia also presented their credentials at the ceremony.

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