Israel declares Lula ‘persona non grata’ after Holocaust speech

Israel’s Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, has once again criticized President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for his statements on Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip and the cutting off of humanitarian aid to the region’s inhabitants. Katz declared Lula persona non grata on social media.

“We will not forgive, and we will not forget—on my behalf and on behalf of the citizens of Israel, I have informed President Lula that he is persona non grata in Israel until he apologizes and retracts his words,” the Israeli ambassador posted, echoing an interview he gave at the Holocaust memorial in Vashem (photo).

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“This morning, I summoned the Brazilian ambassador to Israel near Vashem, the place that bears witness more than anything else to what the Nazis and Hitler did to Jews, including members of my family,” Katz stated.

“Brazilian President Lula’s comparison between Israel’s just war against Hamas and the actions of Hitler and the Nazis, who destroyed 6 million Jews, is a serious anti-Semitic attack that desecrates the memory of those who died in the Holocaust,” he added.

Yesterday (Feb. 18), Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Lula’s speech was equivalent to “crossing a red line.” “The words of the president of Brazil are shameful and serious. It’s about trivializing the Holocaust and trying to harm the Jewish people and Israel’s right to defend itself.”

Background

At a press conference during his official trip to Ethiopia, the Brazilian president classified the civilian deaths in Gaza as genocide, criticized developed countries for reducing or cutting humanitarian aid to the region, and said that “what is happening in the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian people has never existed in history. In fact, it existed when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.”

“It’s not a war between soldiers and soldiers. It’s a war between a highly prepared army and women and children,” said Lula.