Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, escalated the tone again in opposition to the Israeli military massacre in Gaza Strip in the last weeks. During a meeting with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris, Lula classified the offensive from Israel as a “planned genocide by an extreme right wing governant”.
“What is happening in Gaza is not a war, what’s happening there is a genocide carried out by a highly trained Army against women and children”, he said to journalists. Lula also supported that the international community should say “enough” to the military campaign in Gaza and pointed out that “it is sad to know that the world keeps silent facing a genocide”.
The Itamaraty Palace, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had already expressed an opinion about the deaths of Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid who were shot by Israeli troops. “The use of hunger as a weapon of war and violence against civilians searching for food are absolutely unacceptable,” the ministry said in its statement.
According to Itamaraty, Brazil supports independent investigations into the circumstances of recent attacks that occurred at humanitarian aid centers run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Despite the strong rhetoric and accusation of genocide, civil society organizations and pro-Palestinian movements are putting pressure for concrete actions against the Israeli government. Earlier this month, a letter with more than 12,000 signatures was handed directly to Lula during his official visit to Paris, demanding that the federal government adopt tangible measures against Israel.
The Palestinian genocide, that takes place in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has already resulted in nearly 55,000 deaths, most of them women and children. In addition to bomb attacks, the entire population of over 2 million people in the territory face a severe risk of undernutrition, as Israel blocks food aid. Dozens of deaths from starvation have already been registered, mainly among young children and the elderly.
Brazilian civil society calls for effective actions, such as the immediate severance of diplomatic and trade relations with Israel. The document, organized by the BDS Brazil movement (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions), demands the end of the Brazilian-Israeli free trade agreement, suspension of military cooperation, an energy embargo, among other sanctions.
The open letter has the support of prominent figures in Brazilian culture, law, and politics. Signatories include artists such as Chico Buarque, Ney Matogrosso, Letícia Sabatella, Milton Hatoum, and Gregório Duvivier; magistrates Carol Proner and Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro; former minister Guilherme Estrella; and the philosopher Vladimir Safatle. Politicians from the Workers’ Party (PT) and Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL), such as Guilherme Boulos, Erika Hilton, Sâmia Bomfim, Luiza Erundina, and João Daniel, also signed the letter.
This position is also supported by the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST, abbreviation in Portuguese). “We believe it is time for the Brazilian government to take a stronger posture on this issue, not only on the genocide in Gaza but also the broader genocide against the Palestinian people and others affected by the Zionist state of Israel,” said Ceres Hadich, from MST’s National Leadership.
Hadich wants the Brazilian government to take concrete steps, including severing diplomatic and trade ties with Israel, as well as taking measures of solidarity with the Palestinian people. “We fully agree that these diplomatic relations must be ended immediately and that we must acknowledge the genocide and act concretely to reverse it.”
To Miriam Gomes Saraiva, a professor in the International Relations department at UERJ (Rio de Janeiro’s State University), the Brazilian government is responding appropriately to the situation. “Not only has President Lula called it genocide, not for the first time, but South Africa has also filed a claim at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide, and Brazil has formally supported this request. So, I believe Brazil is taking the possible steps it can, through its statements and by supporting the case at the court that accuses Israel of genocide.”
Saraiva believes that ceasing diplomatic relations would be “unusual” for Brazilian diplomacy. “Completely severing ties with a country is generally rare, even with Israel. Some countries have brought back their ambassadors, but few have fully ended relations. So, in practical terms, it wouldn’t change much. Brazil currently has no ambassador there, which shows already the last step before a rupture. It’s not as if the relations are good, they’re not.”
The professor also highlights singularities in the relationship with the State of Israel that complicate the severing of ties: the strong global political influence from the Jewish community in Brazil.
“Israel often sees criticism of its government as antisemitism. Which, obviously, isn’t true. However, the Israeli government frequently plays this card. Severing ties could also mean confronting the Jewish community”, said Saraiva.
A source from Itamaraty said that Brazil “does not sever diplomatic relations.” “We are one of the very few, perhaps only ten—countries in the world that maintain diplomatic relations with all other nations. This is a strength of our diplomacy. Severing ties tends to be a tool of domestic politics, and Brazil does not use or exploit that tool. It’s not part of Brazilian diplomatic tradition, and preserving that tradition is very positive. Our international partners do not expect Brazil to discontinue diplomatic relations. So the measure would, in fact, be pointless.”
The source argued that severing relations with a country would mean that, in every future crisis, such a move might again be required, which could seriously jeopardize Brazilian diplomacy, whose main qualities in the international context are stability and predictability.
“Severing relations is a media movement. We don’t do diplomacy under the spotlight, and never have,” the source emphasized.
Congress discusses
A group of around 20 Brazilian parliamentaries had a meeting, on June 11 with the special advisor of President Lula, Celso Amorim, to discuss the genocide situation ongoing in Palestine. The reunion happened after a request from the representative João Daniel (from the Workers’ Party of Sergipe).
“Brazil needs to report war crimes and the genocide committed by the Israeli government, in all necessary instances, including severing diplomatic relations, such as many other countries have done and increasingly keep doing”, stated Dani
Amorim highlighted that the return of the Brazilian ambassador from Tel Aviv, Frederico Meyer, in May 2024, is seen as a “dramatic” gesture in international relations. Brazil has not approved the appointment of the ambassador proposed by Israel to represent the country in Brazil.
Amorim criticized the government of Israel during the meeting and said the Brazilian government studies new measures against the zionist State, especially in relation to existing military cooperation agreements. “The Israeli government has behaved totally contrary to, not only what is moral and ethical, what obviously happens, but to the international practice”, said the presidential advisor to the legislators.
In the meantime, Amorim said that ending relations with Israel is a “complex” topic, because it would have impacts including over Brazilian citizens that live in Israel.
At the occasion, the parliamentaries handed the diplomat a document, in which they highlight that Israel has “systematically violated international law, UN resolutions and basic principles of human dignity”.
In the paper, the signatories state that “symbolic gestures or diplomatic reports” are not sufficient anymore to effectively pressure the Israeli State. “In light of the tens of thousands of dead civilians, the attacks on hospitals and schools, and the total blockade imposing hunger and thirst on the population of Gaza, maintaining diplomatic relations with Israel is an act of complicity,” says the text.
Yet according to the text, severing diplomatic relations with Israel would be “a clear indication to the world that Brazil does not accept the massacre of civilians as a State policy”.
The parliamentarians also requested that the Ministry of Justice, the Federal Police, and the Federal Public Ministry investigate Brazilian citizens’ participation in the massacre of the Palestinian people, as determined by the Rome Statute, to which the country is a signatory.
“Today there are public and documented evidences of individuals with Brazilian citizenship that voluntarily traveled to join the Israeli nazi-zionist in the Gaza Strip, participating in actions that resulted in the massacre of thousands of civilians, including women and children”, said the parliamentaries. “The double standard in the enforcement of the law challenges the credibility of institutions and weakens Brazil’s moral authority on the international stage. Omission, in this case, can be interpreted as complicity with impunity and disregard for the victims.”
Finally, the document delivered to the former minister outlines “three unfulfilled promises” by Brazilian diplomacy regarding the conflict. “President Lula publicly declared that Brazil would support South Africa’s action against Israel at the International Court of Justice for genocide. This statement created hope and a positive response among human rights defenders. However, to this day, that promise has not been effectively fulfilled, neither through a formal expression of support nor by joining the case as an interested part,” the text says.
The statement also highlights the position of Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, who, according to the parliamentarians, “has repeatedly defended the ‘two-state solution with negotiable borders,’ which contradicts Brazil’s historical position in support of borders based on the 1967 agreements, with East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian State.”
“Speaking of ‘negotiable borders’ ignores the rights already recognized for the Palestinian people and legitimizes Israeli colonial expansion. It is essential that Brazil aligns its discourse with its historical policy of full recognition of Palestine,” they affirm, also raising concern over the ongoing discrimination against Palestinians and Arabs in Brazilian embassies and immigration procedures.
Federal Deputy Natália Bonavides (from the Workers’ Party of Rio Grande do Norte) evaluated the conversation with Amorim positively. “Given this grave scenario of genocide perpetrated by Israel, which has already caused more than 50,000 Palestinian deaths, with women and children as the main victims, we asked ambassador Celso Amorim to get the country to advance with effective measures, such as the severing commercial relations between Brazil and Israel. It was a very important moment, and for the first time the government publicly and officially stated that it is studying such measures,” she said.
Thiago Ávila
The situation of Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila was also discussed. He was arrested by Israeli forces while attempting to reach Gaza along with other activists aboard the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC). Ávila, before being released, was detained after refusing to sign a deportation order and requesting the crew of the boat Madleen to return to the vessel and continue their journey.
On this matter, the former minister stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is monitoring the case to ensure the activist’s well-being and safety return to Brazil.
Deputy Sâmia Bomfim (Psol-SP), who was at the meeting, posted a video on Instagram commenting on the conversation with Amorim. “We also reiterated in the meeting our solidarity and deep concern for Thiago Ávila, who is on a hunger strike. The information that he has been placed in solitary confinement is extremely serious and demands urgent action from our authorities. We are doing everything within our power!” she wrote.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Itamaraty) issued a statement affirming that it is in contact with Ávila’s family, explaining details of the activist’s detention, and condemning the interception of the Freedom Flotilla, as well as the “gravely concerning humanitarian situation” in Gaza.
“By reiterating its strong condemnation of the interception, in international waters, by Israeli forces of the vessel ‘Madleen,’ in flagrant violation of international law, Brazil asks for the release of its national and urges Israel to ensure his well-being and health. In the context of the extremely severe humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where widespread hunger and malnutrition prevail, Brazil deplores the continued imposition of severe restrictions, violating international humanitarian law, on the access of basic survival items into the State of Palestine,” the statement reads.
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