Israel declares to Lula “persona non grata” and Brazil summons the Israeli ambassador in Brasilia: the diplomatic crisis caused by the Brazilian president’s comments when comparing the war in Loop with the Holocaust It became more sour this Monday.
The day before, from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, where he participated as a guest at the annual summit of the African Union, Lula declared that Israel’s offensive against the Islamist Hamas movement in Gaza was not “a war, but a genocide” and compared it with “when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.”
The Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz, dismissed Lula’s statements as “shame” and declared to the Brazilian president “persona non grata” in his country, during a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial center in Jerusalem, where the Brazilian ambassador to Israel had been summoned.
Brazil’s foreign minister responded by summoning the Israeli ambassador to the country on Monday.
“Given the seriousness of this morning’s statements by the Israeli government, Minister Mauro Vieira (…) summoned the Israeli ambassador Daniel Zonshine to appear” to Rio de Janeiro, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.
He also called “for consultations” to the Brazilian representative in Israel, Frederico Meyer, who will travel to the country on Tuesday.
After the new measures in Brasilia, Katz reiterated that Lula will be a “undesirable figure” in Israel until “apologize and withdraw your anti-Semitic incitements.” “We will remain standing”he claimed.
“We will not tolerate leaders around the world trying to give Hamas political or legal cover,” Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy said during a press conference on Monday.
“Genocidal government”
Israel launched an air and ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza after the Islamist group’s October 7 attack on its territory, which left at least 1,160 dead, according to an estimate based on Israeli figures.
The Israeli military response has left more than 29,000 dead in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health of that territory ruled by Hamas since 2007.
Lula, who returned to power in January 2023, succeeding the far-right Jair Bolsonaro, described in November as “act of terrorism” the Hamas attack on October 7. But he also considered the Israeli response to be “disproportionate”.
“It is not a war of soldiers against soldiers”The 78-year-old president declared on Sunday. “It is a war between a very prepared army and women and children,” held.
The statements by Lula, an important representative of the countries of the global south and who holds the rotating presidency of the G20, are the most forceful issued so far on the conflict.
The head of Brazilian diplomacy is in Rio de Janeiro to prepare for the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting on Wednesday and Thursday.
Hamas welcomed the Brazilian politician’s comments in a statement and said they were “an exact description of what his people suffer” in Gaza.
The Brazilian first lady, ‘Janja’ Lula da Silva, indicated in a message published on social networks that her husband “has defended peace and the right to life of women and children, who are the majority of victims” in the conflict. And he clarified that his statements referred to the “genocidal government and not the Jewish people.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instead stated on Sunday that Lula had crossed “a red line.”
“By comparing Israel’s war in Gaza against Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization, to the Holocaust, President (Lula) da Silva dishonors the memory of the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis and demonizes the Jewish State as the most virulent of anti-Semites. He should be ashamed”he added.
Nazi Germany systematically exterminated six million Jews during the Holocaust, approximately one-third of the world’s Jewish population.
The president of the Yad Vashem steering committee, Dani Dayan, also pointed out that the Latin American president’s statements demonstrated “clear anti-Semitism” and described its comparison with the Holocaust as “unacceptable”.
Source: Gestion
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
