Israel is angry at Brazil’s president for saying Israel is killing a lot of people in Gaza, and that it’s like the Holocaust.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that in Israel’s military campaign, there was a strong army fighting against women and children.
The foreign minister of Israel said that Lula’s comments were antisemitic and that he is not welcome in the country until he takes back what he said.
The top Jewish group in Brazil also disapproved of Lula’s remarks.
Lula, who was at an African Union meeting in Ethiopia, said the situation in Gaza with the Palestinian people is unlike anything from the past. It really happened when Hitler chose to kill the Jews.
“It’s not a fight between soldiers. ” It’s a fight between a strong army and women and children.
The experienced politician on the liberal side criticized Hamas for attacking Israel on 7 October, killing over 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages.
But he has been openly against Israel’s military attack, which the health ministry in Gaza says has killed more than 28,800 people, mostly women and children.
His most recent words come after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to continue attacking Rafah – the southernmost city in Gaza, where around 1. 5 million people have fled – even though there is more and more pressure from other countries.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said they will remember and not forgive.
“It is a very harmful attack on Jewish people. ” From me and the people of Israel – tell President Lula that he is not welcome in Israel until he takes back what he said.
Mr Netanyahu said that Lula’s comments were making the Holocaust seem less important and trying to hurt the Jewish people and Israel’s right to protect itself.
“He said it’s not okay to compare Israel to the Holocaust of the Nazis and Hitler. ”
Hitler’s Nazi government killed six million Jewish people in the 1930s and 1940s.
Israel asked the Brazilian ambassador to come for a meeting on Monday.
The main Jewish organization in Brazil, the Brazilian Israelite Confederation, said that Lula’s comments were a twisted version of the truth that hurt the memory of Holocaust victims and their descendants.
Lula supported South Africa’s accusation of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last year.
In January, judges at the ICJ said that South Africa can keep going with its case against Israel.
The court told Israel to stop its military from doing things that could be considered genocidal, to stop and punish actions that encourage genocide, and to make sure the people of Gaza receive help.
However, the court did not demand that Israel stop its military operations in Gaza right away.
Brazil and South Africa are part of a group called Brics. It’s a team of important developing countries that are working together to challenge richer Western nations.
The World Health Organization said that the Nasser hospital in Gaza can no longer work after it was attacked by Israel. The IDF said it did a careful and small operation and blamed Hamas for using hospitals for terrorism.
“Right now, people are trying to make Israel and Hamas stop fighting in Cairo. But the people from Qatar who are helping don’t think it’s going very well. “
Tag: Lula
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Israel denounces Lula of Brazil for comparing Gaza War to Holocaust
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Lula of Brazil fires deputy chief of intelligence amid spying investigation
Brazil’s President Lula fired the second-in-command of the national intelligence agency and four other leaders.
Authorities are still looking into allegations that the agency, Abin, spied on people who were against the ex-president Jair Bolsonaro.
Alessandro Moretti, a deputy, is accused of giving information to a former boss of Abin named Alexandre Ramagem, who is also a member of the same party as Mr.
Mr Bolsonaro says he and his family are being unfairly treated.
Lula said his government doesn’t tell the federal police what to do.
The scandal started on Thursday when Brazil’s highest court released documents accusing Abin of secretly watching important political and legal figures who spoke out against the former president.
Three Supreme Court judges and a speaker of Brazil’s lower house of Congress were reportedly being spied on illegally.
Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said that the police found evidence that Mr. Bolsonaro’s son Carlos was involved in ordering illegal spying as part of a political group.
The judge allowed police to search Carlos’ home and offices on Monday. Carlos is a city councillor in Rio de Janeiro.
Carlos Bolsonaro’s lawyer did not answer right away when the Associated Press asked for a comment.
Last week, the police looked for evidence in Mr. Ramagem’s office and house. He says he didn’t do anything wrong. This is according to Reuters news agency.
The police think Abin was using a software called FirstMile from Israel to secretly watch people’s mobile phones.
Experienced leftist Lula barely won against Mr. Bolsonaro, a very conservative politician, in a tense presidential election on 30 October 2022.
This new investigation adds to the legal troubles of Mr Bolsonaro, who has been banned from running for office for eight years after questioning Brazil’s electronic voting system without evidence.