Russians have protested the arrest of a nefarious oppositionist and Belarusians are worried about the protest against dictator Lukashenko • So why do the parties refuse to address this?
• Opinion
Demonstrators for Nabalani in Tel Aviv
Photo:
Konstantin Gimpel
Anyone who passed by the promenade area in Tel Aviv at noon on January 23 could not have missed a demonstration by several hundred people carrying signs in Russian.
According to the organizers, this was the largest demonstration ever of USSR countries in the country, but the historical aspect of it was at all the reason for its existence: a protest against the political repression in their countries of origin, Russia and Belarus.
Russians protested the arrest of opposition leader Alexei Navlani, a Belarusian - against the war banned by dictator Lukashenko following protests over the August elections.
In both cases, what motivated the Russian speakers was a deep and probably unprecedented emotional involvement in what was happening in their countries of origin, even without any aspect of the persecution of the Jews in them.
And if for the "Russian" protesters the scandal of Navalny's arrest was a reason not only to grumble in groups but also to demonstrate in Israel, the "Belarusians" already carried in their backpacks a few months' experience and well-worded expectations from official Israel.
This new factor, which blurs the boundaries of belonging of many Russian speakers in the country and expands their identity, is a "blind spot" for the lists running for the 24th Knesset and has completely disappeared from propaganda.
Perhaps this is not surprising, as this was also the attitude of elected officials and officials in the face of the protest itself: despite demonstrations and appeals to the Foreign and Prime Minister's Office, no one even found it appropriate to express concern - even from language and pressure - about Belarusian fascism.
The disappointment of many Belarusians in the country was bitter.
Moreover, the only one who had already addressed Belarus was Avigdor Lieberman, who apparently lost a few points when he said on a Channel 9 broadcast that in terms of Israeli interests, Belarus is no more important than Mali or the Ivory Coast.
Yair Netanyahu also showed a lack of sensitivity or a lack of awareness, when on the day of the demonstration against Putin, he posted a photo of himself shining and shaking hands with the Russian president on his Instagram account.
While someone was just monitoring what happened in the Facebook groups of Belarusians in the country after the ambassador in Minsk was photographed smiling with dictator Lukashenko ...
The weight of this factor has yet to be measured in a research form, but here is a preliminary impression.
According to a survey conducted by the author of these lines in several groups of Belarusians in the country, 67 percent of the participants answered that Israel's conduct toward what was happening in their homeland would affect their vote in the upcoming elections;
Those who could condemn and remain silent will not get their vote, and on the other hand, those who at least express concern will be considered positive.
So true, these elections are not about the "Russian voice", but no candidate can afford to ignore trends that are forming in this public, certainly when the struggle is so close.
It is conceivable that a candidate who would have promised to act to change Israeli neutrality towards political repression in Russia and certainly in Belarus, would have promised himself a few more votes (not to mention luxuries such as empathy).