FM Katz Schools Brazilian Ambassador at Yad Vashem Following ‘Clearly Antisemitic’ Remarks by Brazil’s President

In an unparalleled diplomatic rebuke, Israel’s Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, summoned Brazil’s Ambassador to Israel, Frederico Meyer, to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. This stern reprimand on February 19, 2024, came in response to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s controversial remarks, which likened Israel’s actions in Gaza to the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany.

At the Africa Union Summit, President Lula da Silva made a striking comparison, stating, “What is happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people does not exist at any other historical moment,” before making the contentious assertion, “Except when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, taking immediate action, directed FM Katz to address the remarks by summoning the Brazilian ambassador. Breaking from conventional diplomatic protocols, Katz chose Yad Vashem as the venue for this rebuke, emphasizing the gravity of Lula’s comparison by invoking the memory of the Holocaust.

During the meeting, Katz pointedly referenced his own family’s suffering under the Nazis, stating, “I brought you to the place that testifies more than anything else to what the Nazis and Hitler did to the Jews, who killed six million of our people, the Jews, including members of my family.” This personal connection underscored the inappropriateness of Lula’s analogy between Israel’s military actions and the genocidal campaign waged by Hitler.

Katz condemned the Brazilian president’s statements as “a shame and disgrace and a serious anti-Semitic attack,” further highlighted by the presentation of the “Book of Names” at Yad Vashem. This memorial, containing the names of 4.8 million Jewish Holocaust victims, served as a poignant reminder of the tragedy, with Katz showing the names of his own grandparents as part of the memorial.

Yad Vashem chairman Dani Dayan echoed Katz’s sentiments, labeling Lula’s words as “clearly antisemitic” and an “abhorrent combination of hatred and ignorance.” This incident marks a significant moment of tension between Israel and Brazil, spotlighting the sensitivities around Holocaust remembrance and the complexities of Middle Eastern geopolitics.