News Desk - The Cradle
Officials in Tel Aviv bristled at the remarks by Lula, calling them 'Holocaust trivialization'
"We will not forget, and we will not forgive. This is a serious anti-Semitic attack. In my name and in the name of the citizens of the State of Israel – inform President Lula that he is an unwanted personality in Israel until he does not retract," Katz told the Brazilian ambassador after summoning him to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center in occupied Jerusalem.
"The comparison between Israel's just war against Hamas, and the atrocities of Hitler and the Nazis, is a shame and disgrace and a serious anti-Semitic attack," Katz added.
On Sunday, Lula drew the ire of Tel Aviv during a speech at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa when he called Israel's actions in Gaza a “genocide” and highlighted the parallels that exist with Nazi Germany.
“It’s not a war of soldiers against soldiers. It’s a war between a highly prepared army and women and children,” the Brazilian president said. “What’s happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people hasn’t happened at any other moment in history. Actually, it has happened: when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the remarks “Holocaust trivialization and an attempt to harm the Jewish people and the right of Israel to defend itself.”
“The comparison between Israel to the Holocaust of the Nazis and Hitler is crossing a red line,” the embattled Israeli leader said in a statement, claiming that the country's ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza is "upholding international law.”
Although Lula was quick to condemn the ‘terrorist’ actions of the Palestinian resistance on 7 October, he has since grown vocal about the actions of Israel against Gaza.
Last week, Lula blasted western nations for cutting aid to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) during a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, and vowed to boost Brazil's contribution to the agency.
"We need to stop being small when we need to be big," the president declared.
At an Arab League summit in Cairo on Thursday, he criticized the UN for its failure to address international conflicts and condemned Israel's actions in Gaza.
"Israel's behavior has no explanation: with the pretext of fighting Hamas, it is killing women and children," he said after a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. “There can be no peace without the establishment of a Palestinian State,” Lula added.
The Brazilian president is the second world leader to liken Israel's actions in Gaza to those of Nazi Germany. In late December, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the differences between Netanyahu and Hitler were becoming non-existent.
"How do you [Netanyahu] differ from Hitler? These [actions] will make us look for Hitler as well. Is there anything Netanyahu does that is less than Hitler? No," Erdogan said.
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