Friday, October 19, 2007

Israel recalls ambassador to Belarus

Press TV News - Oct 9, 2007

Israel's ambassador to Belarus returns home after The Belarus President calls a once predominantly-Jewish city in his country "a pigpen."

According to DPA, Israeli Ambassador Zeev Ben- Ari returned less than a week after October 12 remarks by Aleksander Lukashenko to Russian reporters in Minsk.

"Have you ever been to Bobrusk, have you ever seen what state the city is in? It was terrifying to go inside, it was such a pigpen," Lukashenko said in a statement supporting his government's high priority on picking up trash and cleaning city streets.

"It (Bobrusk) was a predominantly Jewish city, and you know how Jews treat the places they live. Look at Israel, I've been there. I don't want to offend any one, but they (Israelis) don't try very hard that grass is neatly cut, not like in moscow, among the Russians,among Belarusians."

Tzipi Livni, Israel's Foreign Minister, on Wednesday criticized Lukashenko's comments, saying "In these remarks (of Lukashenko's) one can today hear the myth that I had hoped had long been buried in history: that Jews supposedly are ungroomed, dirty, and bad-smelling."

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