On the event commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Great Victory and the 70th Anniversary of the All-Israel Association Natives from Belarus

On December 17, 2025, a ceremonial event was held in the city of Netanya, organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the State of Israel in cooperation with the All-Israel Association of Natives from Belarus (AIANB) and the All-Israel Association of Refugees and Holocaust Survivors.

The event was dedicated to significant milestones –  the 70th Anniversary of the AIANB and the 80th Anniversary of the Great Victory. As part of the celebration, a formal reporting conference took place, summarizing the AIANB’s activities in 2025 and outlining the key directions for the organization in 2026.

AIANB Chairman Mikhail Alshansky, who had recently returned from Minsk where he attended a session of the Consultative Council on Belarusians Abroad, read out a congratulatory message from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Maxim RYZHENKOV, on the occasion of the organization’s anniversary.

In his welcoming speech, the Ambassador of Belarus to Israel, Yury Yaroshevich, emphasized that the 70th Anniversary of the AIANB and the 80th Anniversary of the Great Victory unite the peoples of Belarus and Israel through shared historical memory and values. 

He highlighted the role of the Association in preserving cultural ties, reaffirmed Belarus’s commitment to Holocaust remembrance, including the establishment of the Holocaust and Resistance Museum in Novogrudok with the participation of Yad Vashem, and noted the safety of the Jewish community in Belarus. The Ambassador also referred to the upcoming VII All-Belarusian People’s Congress, where the socio-economic development program for 2026 – 2030 will be approved, and highlighted prospects for Belarus-Israel cooperation in trade, tourism, and humanitarian initiatives, including the restoration of direct flights.

Participants included the Director of the “Eurasia-I” Department of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, former Israeli Ambassador to Belarus Alex Goldman-Shayman, Dr. Nati Kontorovich, Director of the Information and Research Department of the NATIV Bureau of the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, Chairman of the All-Israel Chernobyl Association Vadim Hasdan, as well as representatives of public organizations.

Among the honorary guests were Efim Gimelshtein, a survivor of the Minsk Ghetto, Boris Gersten, a renowned Belarusian TV journalist and documentarian, Eli Tassman, former Ambassador of Israel to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, retired Colonel and former head of the 8200 intelligence unit, Yehuda Davidov, Chairman of the All-Israel Association of Refugees and Holocaust Survivors, and other public figures and members of the Belarusian diaspora.

At the conclusion of the official ceremony, participants laid wreaths and flowers at the Monument to the Victory of the Red Army over Nazi Germany “Wings,” and honored the memory of the victims of the Chernobyl disaster at a memorial site in Netanya.

The event took place in a warm and solemn atmosphere and concluded with a concert featuring Belarusian performers.

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