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Mauro Vieira (l./with WHO chief Tedros Adhanom on February 7th)
Photo: Andre Borges / EPA
Normally, diplomatic disputes between friendly countries take place – at least publicly – in a rather subdued tone. This is a little different in the current dispute over Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's comparison of Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip with the Holocaust.
Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira has now accused his Israeli colleague Israel Katz of dishonesty. Katz's statements were "unacceptable in nature and a lie in terms of content" and "outrageous," explained Vieira.
What he specifically refers to was not entirely clear. Katz declared on Monday that Israel would "neither forget nor forgive." He called Lula's statements "a serious anti-Semitic attack."
The background: Lula accused Israel of a "genocide" in the Gaza Strip on Sunday at an African Union summit in Addis Ababa because of the war against the radical Islamic Hamas. Then the 78-year-old added: “What is happening to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip has never happened before in history. Yes, that already happened: When Hitler decided to kill the Jews.
Israel then summoned the Brazilian ambassador Frederico Meyer to a meeting with Foreign Minister Katz at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and declared Lula persona non grata. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Lula had "crossed a red line."
In return, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador Daniel Zonshinem and brought Meyer back to Brazil for consultations.
Support for Lula from other countries
Lula received support from two South American heads of state on Tuesday. Colombia's President Gustavo Petro wrote on the online service X, formerly Twitter: "A genocide is taking place in Gaza." Lula "only told the truth and the truth must be defended." Bolivian President Luis Arce also said on X that Lula had "told the truth about the genocide."
The United States, Israel's biggest supporter, has contradicted Lula's statements. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who landed in Brazil on Wednesday for the meeting of G20 foreign ministers, is also expected to meet with Lula during his visit.
On October 7th, fighters from Hamas, which the EU and the USA classify as a terrorist organization, entered Israel and committed atrocities there, mainly against civilians. According to Israeli information, around 1,160 people were killed and around 250 were taken hostage to the Gaza Strip.
In response to the Hamas attack, Israel has stated that its goal is to destroy Hamas. According to Hamas figures that cannot be independently verified, more than 29,100 people were killed in the massive military operation in the Gaza Strip.
jok/AFP