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Influential left-wing Brazilian politician expresses interest in boycott of ‘certain Jewish companies’
(JTA) — Jewish groups in Brazil are expressing grave concern after a leading politician in the left-wing party of the country’s president called for a national boycott of Israel and expressed interest in the boycott of “Jewish companies.”
José Genoino, a two-decade congressman from São Paulo who spent three years at the helm of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Workers Party before being ousted in a corruption scandal, made the comments during an appearance on a left-wing TV show last week where he was discussing Lula’s support for South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Genoino criticized a petition by Brazilian business leaders against Brazil’s support for the ICJ investigation, then seemed to propose a boycott of them.
“I find this idea of rejection interesting, this idea of boycotting for political reasons that harm economic interests. It’s an interesting approach,” Genoino said. “There’s even this boycott in relation to certain Jewish companies.”
Alluding to the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement against Israel, known as BDS, which calls for eschewing all goods and services from Israeli companies, Genoino offered full-throated support for a narrower form of an Israel boycott.
“There is a boycott of companies linked to the state of Israel. In fact, I believe Brazil should cut commercial relations in the security and military sectors with the state of Israel,” he said.
Opponents of the BDS movement say that it is antisemitic because it opposes the very existence of Israel as a Jewish state. But even vociferous critics of Israel tend to say it is inappropriate to target Diaspora Jews or Jewish institutions as a form of anti-Israel protest. And Genoino’s comments have drawn criticism from Jewish and non-Jewish groups alike.
The Jewish Federation of the State of Sao Paulo said Genoino had suggested boycotting Jewish businesses. “Antisemitism deserves total condemnation,” it said in a statement. “We hope, once again, for retraction and, above all, the repudiation of good people who defend the values of peace and democracy.”
The Brazilian Israelite Confederation, known as CONIB, also swiftly responded, issuing a statement condemning Genoino’s remarks as antisemitic and highlighting that antisemitism is a crime in Brazil.
Plus, the statement said, “The boycott of Jews was one of the first measures adopted by the Nazi regime against the German Jewish community, culminating in the Holocaust.”
CONIC also appealed to Brazilian political leaders for “moderation” and balance in the context of “the Middle East conflict,” alluding to the current Israel-Hamas war that has ignited global protests. They emphasized that “extreme statements, contrary to the tradition of Brazilian foreign policy,” could import tensions from the region into the country.
Geroino rejected the criticism. “I repudiate the note from CONIB and I affirm that I am not and have never been antisemitic,” he said in a statement. “I also repudiate any type of prejudice against the Jewish people and defend the existence of two states. … We have an obligation to denounce the Israeli government’s genocide against the Palestinian people. I have tirelessly defended the ceasefire, peace between peoples and solidarity with the Palestinian people.”
Guto Zacarias, a 24-year-old Sao Paolo politician from a right-wing party, announced that he had asked the police to investigate Genoino over his comments. He cited a 2003 Brazilian supreme court ruling in a case about the publisher of antisemitic books that made Jews a protected class under the country’s anti-racism law.
“Racism and religious intolerance will not be tolerated in SP!” Zacarias wrote. It was not clear whether the police would decide to open a case.
Brazil has undergone an abrupt shift from being a staunch supporter of Israel, under the past right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro, to supporting the most extreme criticism of it. But locals said they did not believe that Genoino’s support for economic boycotts would find much practical support.
The Brazil-Israel Chamber of Commerce told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that it did not believe “that this isolated episode could affect the business relationship between Brazil and Israel. Today, business between the two countries is solid, growing in volume and Brazil has made much use of Israel’s technology in various segments.”
And Sebastian Watenberg, regional director of the Brazil-Israel Chamber of Commerce, said he was pleased that Genoino’s comments had drawn widespread criticism and that he did not expect them to have any significant impact.
“I think his statement was widely condemned, and I believe the BDS movement, which is actually behind all of this, has been around for years and has not worked. It has not harmed Israel’s business; it has not gained significant traction outside of the intellectual world,” he said. “I think business on the ground will not be affected by this, but in any case, manifestations of this nature are never good, especially because they are antisemitic above all else.”
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The post Influential left-wing Brazilian politician expresses interest in boycott of ‘certain Jewish companies’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Iran Says ‘Extremely Cautious’ on Success of Nuclear Talks with US
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Iran and the United States have agreed to continue nuclear talks next week, both sides said on Saturday, though Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi voiced “extreme cautious” about the success of the negotiations to resolve a decades-long standoff.
US President Donald Trump has signaled confidence in clinching a new pact with the Islamic Republic that would block Tehran’s path to a nuclear bomb.
Araqchi and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff held a third round of the talks in Muscat through Omani mediators for around six hours, a week after a second round in Rome that both sides described as constructive.
“The negotiations are extremely serious and technical… there are still differences, both on major issues and on details,” Araqchi told Iranian state TV.
“There is seriousness and determination on both sides… However, our optimism about success of the talks remains extremely cautious.”
A senior US administration official described the talks as positive and productive, adding that both sides agreed to meet again in Europe “soon.”
“There is still much to do, but further progress was made on getting to a deal,” the official added.
Earlier Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi had said talks would continue next week, with another “high-level meeting” provisionally scheduled for May 3. Araqchi said Oman would announce the venue.
Ahead of the lead negotiators’ meeting, expert-level indirect talks took place in Muscat to design a framework for a potential nuclear deal.
“The presence of experts was beneficial … we will return to our capitals for further reviews to see how disagreements can be reduced,” Araqchi said.
An Iranian official, briefed about the talks, told Reuters earlier that the expert-level negotiations were “difficult, complicated and serious.”
The only aim of these talks, Araqchi said, was “to build confidence about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.”
Trump, in an interview with Time magazine published on Friday, said “I think we’re going to make a deal with Iran,” but he repeated a threat of military action against Iran if diplomacy fails.
Shortly after Araqchi and Witkoff began their latest indirect talks on Saturday, Iranian state media reported a massive explosion at the country’s Shahid Rajaee port near the southern city of Bandar Abbas, killing at least four people and injuring hundreds.
MAXIMUM PRESSURE
While both Tehran and Washington have said they are set on pursuing diplomacy, they remain far apart on a dispute that has rumbled on for more than two decades.
Trump, who has restored a “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran since February, ditched a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers in 2018 during his first term and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran.
Since 2019, Iran has breached the pact’s nuclear curbs including “dramatically” accelerating its enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% level that is weapons grade, according to the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week Iran would have to entirely stop enriching uranium under a deal, and import any enriched uranium it needed to fuel its sole functioning atomic energy plant, Bushehr.
Tehran is willing to negotiate some curbs on its nuclear work in return for the lifting of sanctions, according to Iranian officials, but ending its enrichment program or surrendering its enriched uranium stockpile are among “Iran’s red lines that could not be compromised” in the talks.
Moreover, European states have suggested to US negotiators that a comprehensive deal should include limits preventing Iran from acquiring or finalizing the capacity to put a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile, several European diplomats said.
Tehran insists its defense capabilities like its missile program are not negotiable.
An Iranian official with knowledge of the talks said on Friday that Tehran sees its missile program as a bigger obstacle in the talks.
The post Iran Says ‘Extremely Cautious’ on Success of Nuclear Talks with US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Palestinian Leader Abbas Names Likely Successor in Bid to Reassure World Powers
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas named close confidant Hussein al-Sheikh as his deputy and likely successor on Saturday, the Palestine Liberation Organization said, a step widely seen as needed to assuage international doubts over Palestinian leadership.
Abbas, 89, has headed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) since the death of veteran leader Yasser Arafat in 2004 but he had for years resisted internal reforms including the naming of a successor.
Sheikh, born in 1960, is a veteran of Fatah, the main PLO faction which was founded by Arafat and is now headed by Abbas. He is widely viewed as a pragmatist with very close ties to Israel.
He was named PLO vice president after the organization’s executive committee approved his nomination by Abbas, the PLO said in a statement.
Reform of the PA, which exercises limited autonomy in the West Bank, has been a priority for the United States and Gulf monarchies hoping the body can play a central role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Pressure to reform has intensified since the start of the war in Gaza, where the PLO’s main Palestinian rival Hamas has battled Israel for more than 18 months, leaving the tiny, crowded territory in ruins.
The United States has promoted the idea of a reformed PA governing in Gaza after the war. Gulf monarchies, which are seen as the most likely source of funding for reconstruction in Gaza after the war, also want major reforms of the body.
CALL FOR HAMAS TO DISARM
Israel’s declared goal in Gaza is the destruction of Hamas but it has also ruled out giving the PA any role in government there. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he opposes the creation of a Palestinian state.
Hamas, which follows a militant Islamist ideology, has controlled Gaza since 2007 when it defeated the PA in a brief civil war after winning an election the previous year. It also has a large presence in the West Bank.
At a meeting of the PLO’s Central Council on Wednesday and Thursday that approved the position of vice president without naming an appointee, Abbas made his clearest ever call for Hamas to completely disarm and hand its weapons – and responsibility for governing in Gaza – to the PA.
Widespread corruption, lack of progress towards an independent state and increasing Israeli military incursions in the West Bank have undermined the PA’s popularity among many Palestinians.
The body has been controlled by Fatah since it was formed in the Oslo Accords with Israel in 1993 and it last held parliamentary elections in 2005.
Sheikh, who was imprisoned by Israel for his activities opposing the occupation during the period 1978-89, has worked as the PA’s main contact liaising with the Israeli government under Abbas and been his envoy on visits to world powers.
The post Palestinian Leader Abbas Names Likely Successor in Bid to Reassure World Powers first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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3rd Round of Nuclear Talks Between Iran, US Concludes in Oman
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – The third round of talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program has concluded on Saturday, US media reported.
The two sides are understood to have discussed the US lifting of sanctions on Iran, with focuses on technical and key topics including uranium enrichment.
On April 12, the US and Iran held indirect talks in Muscat, marking the first official negotiation between the two sides since the US unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term.
The second round of indirect talks took place in Rome, Italy, on April 19.
All parties, including Oman, stated that the first two rounds of talks were friendly and constructive, but Iranian media pointed out that the first two rounds were mainly framework negotiations and had not yet touched upon the core issues of disagreement.
According to media reports, one of the key issues in the expert-level negotiations will be whether Washington will allow Iran to continue uranium enrichment within the framework of its nuclear program. In response, Araghchi made it clear that Iran’s right to uranium enrichment is non-negotiable.
The US, Israel and other Western actors including the United Nation’s nuclear agency reject Iranian claims that its uranium enrichment is strictly civilian in its goals.
The post 3rd Round of Nuclear Talks Between Iran, US Concludes in Oman first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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