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Israel Downgrades Diplomatic Ties With Brazil Amid Rising Bilateral Tensions
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/Pool
Israel announced on Monday it was downgrading diplomatic relations with Brazil after Brasília rejected its proposed ambassador, marking the latest escalation in tensions between the two countries.
“After Brazil, unusually, refrained from replying to Ambassador [Gali] Dagan’s request for agrément, Israel withdrew the request, and relations between the countries are now being conducted at a lower diplomatic level,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“The Foreign Ministry continues to maintain deep ties with Israel’s many circles of friends in Brazil,” the statement read.
Israeli authorities also noted Brazil’s “critical and hostile line toward Israel” since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Last year, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva accused Jerusalem of committing “genocide” in Gaza, claiming the only historical parallel was “when Hitler decided to kill the Jews,” after which Israeli authorities declared him a “persona non grata.”
Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, the Brazilian government has positioned itself among Israel’s harshest critics, joining countries that seek to undermine its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
Last year, Brazil recalled its ambassador to Israel and has not named a successor.
The South American country has also recently withdrawn from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), a global coalition of nations committed to fighting antisemitism and preserving the memory of the Holocaust.
The Brazilian Israelite Confederation (CONIB), the country’s leading Jewish organization, sharply condemned the move, noting it comes “amid a sharp rise in cases of antisemitism and hatred against Jews worldwide.”
According to CONIB, the measure “represents a moral and diplomatic setback, weakens Brazil’s international commitment to preserving the memory of the Holocaust, and paves the way for the undermining of global efforts in combating antisemitism.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also condemned the move, denouncing Brazil’s growing hostility toward Jerusalem in a social media post on Tuesday.
“[Lula] has now revealed himself as an outspoken antisemite and Hamas supporter by pulling Brazil out of the IHRA, the international body established to fight antisemitism and hatred toward Israel, aligning the country with regimes such as Iran, which openly denies the Holocaust and threatens the existence of the Jewish state,” Katz wrote in a post on X.
“As Israel’s Defense Minister, I affirm: we will defend ourselves against the ‘axis of evil’ of radical Islam, even without the help of Lula and his allies,” the Israeli defense chief continued.
“It is a shame for the wonderful Brazilian people and for the many friends of Israel in Brazil that this is their president. Better days for the relationship between our countries will still come.”
Quando o presidente do Brasil, Lula @LulaOficial, desrespeitou a memória do Holocausto durante meu mandato como Ministro das Relações Exteriores, declarei-o persona non grata em Israel até que pedisse desculpas.
Agora ele revelou sua verdadeira face como antissemita declarado e… pic.twitter.com/O0rzmTYqPA— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) August 26, 2025
Last month, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira confirmed that Brazil would join South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, accusing the country of committing “state-led genocide” in its defensive war against Hamas in Gaza.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.