Brazilian President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva spoke about the Israel-Gaza war at the 37th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Lula’s comments:
What is happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people has no parallel in other historical moments. In fact, it did exist when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.
It’s not a war of soldiers against soldiers. It’s a war between a highly prepared army and women and children.
In response to the remarks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on X:
The words of the president of Brazil are shameful and serious. This is about trivializing the Holocaust and trying to harm the Jewish people and Israel’s right to defend itself. Comparing Israel to the Nazi Holocaust and Hitler is crossing a red line. Israel fights for its defense and securing its future until complete victory and it does so while upholding international law. I decided with Foreign Minister Israel Katz to summon the Brazilian ambassador to Israel for a stern reprimand conversation immediately.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz spoke with Brazilian Ambassador to Israel Frederico Mayer, stating, “We will not forgive, nor will we forget.” Katz also stated that after the comments, Lula was “persona non grata” in Israel.
This morning, I summoned the Brazilian ambassador to Israel to Yad Vashem, the place that demonstrates more than any other what the Nazis and Hitler did to the Jews, including members of my own family. The comparison by the president of Brazil, @LulaOficial, between Israel’s just war against Hamas and the actions of Hitler and the Nazis, who exterminated 6 million Jews, is a serious anti-Semitic attack that profanes the memory of those who were killed in the Holocaust. We will not forgive, nor will we forget — on behalf of myself and the citizens of Israel, I have declared to President Lula that he is persona non grata in Israel until he apologizes and reconsiders his words.”
