Sunday, Israel denounced the president of Brazil for what it said was an antisemitic and trivializing comparison between the battle in Gaza and the Holocaust.
Relations between the two nations have been worsening since President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s return to power last year, and this outrage has only made matters worse. Among the emerging nations that make up the “Global South,” Lula has presented himself as a prominent figure.
Lula told reporters at the African Union meeting in Ethiopia that what is happening to Palestinians in Gaza is unprecedented in history. He said it did when Hitler exterminated the Jews.
Israel, a nation founded as a sanctuary for Jews during the Holocaust, finds these remarks very upsetting. When asked about its actions during the Gaza conflict, Israel emphatically denies any parallels to the Holocaust.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel criticized Lula, saying that his remarks crossed a red line and trivialized Hitler’s actions and the holocaust. In addition, he called Lula a virulent “anti-Semite.”
According to Foreign Minister Israel Katz’s post on X (previously Twitter), the Brazilian ambassador to Israel was called for a reprimand. According to Katz, Lula’s remarks were “shameful.”
The leaders of the African Union meeting on Saturday denounced and demanded a halt to Israel’s assault on Gaza, prompting Lula to make his remarks.
When Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel and massacred over 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and abducted over 250 hostages, the conflict was set in motion. About 130 hostages are still held by militants; it is thought that one-fourth of them have died.
During a meeting with the Palestinian envoy in January, Lula denounced the Oct. 7 assault by Hamas, but he also said that the indiscriminate slaughter of people had no legitimacy and called for a ceasefire.
