It comes as ties between the two countries plummeted to historic lows this year after the Brazilian president compared Israel’s war against Hamas to the Holocaust.
Etgar Lefkovits
(JNS)
The Brazilian Parliament has increased its legislative ties with Israel in a direct pushback against the foreign policy of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The moves come as ties between the two countries had plummeted to historic lows this year after the Brazilian leader compared Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza to the Holocaust, leading Jerusalem to declare that he was a persona non grata in the Jewish state.
The legislative development last week saw the expansion of the existing Brazilian Israel Allies Caucus to include the Senate in Brasilia, making it a bicameral group of 78 parliamentarians combined.
“Brazilians and Israelis share a brotherly bond,” said Brazilian senator Carlos Viana, an evangelical Christian with Sephardic Jewish roots who has been an outspoken critic of his president’s Israel policies and is to lead the Brazilian Senate’s alliance with Israel. “We stand firmly against antisemitism and international terrorism, and today, we reaffirm our commitment to a free democratic and secure world. We stand with Israel and always will.”
He noted that the Brazilian leader was historically out of sync with the bond between the two countries, which dates back to the partition vote in the United Nations for the establishment of the modern-day State of Israel on Nov. 29, 1947, which Brazilian Ambassador Oswaldo Aranha had presided over and prominently supported.
“I am very pleased to take our efforts to a new stage that is an important milestone in strengthening our partnership with Israel,” said Brazilian Rep. Geovânia de Sá, who chaired the single house caucus for Israel over the last decade.
A low point in bilateral relations
At the beginning of the year, relations between the countries went into free fall after the Brazilian president asserted that Israel was committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, likening the Jewish state to Hitler and the Nazis. After being declared a persona non grata by Israel, Brasília indefinitely recalled its ambassador for consultations, as relations plummeted to a new low.
The Brazilian leader doubled down on his anti-Israel rhetoric and subsequently claimed that more than 12 million children had died in Gaza and Israel when the total population of the Gaza Strip is estimated at 2.3 million.
“The new bicameral caucus in Brazil is very important for Israel, especially at a time when we are under military and diplomatic attack,” said Josh Reinstein, president of the Israel Allies Foundation.
Founded a decade-and-a-half ago, the Washington-based Israel Allies Foundation has emerged as a faith-based powerhouse with a global network of more than 50 caucuses around the world that mobilize political support for Israel based on shared Judeo-Christian values.
“This collaboration strengthens the ties between our nations during this time of bilateral strain and global peril,” said Leopoldo Martínez, Latin America director of the Israel Allies Foundation.
Featured Image: From left: Marcos Pereira, vice president of the House of Representatives in Brazil; Jorge Messias, the attorney general of Brazil; André Mendonça, judge of the Supreme Court of Brazil; Dias Tofoli, judge of the Supreme Court of Brazil; David Alcolumbre, incoming president of the Senate; Silas Camara, president of the Evangelical Caucus of the House of Representatives; Sen. Carlos Viana, president of the Brazilian-Israeli Caucus at the Senate and president of the Evangelical Caucus at the Senate of Brazil. Credit: Courtesy of the Attorney General’s Office of Brazil.
