Israel Foreign Minister Israel Katz met with Brazil Ambassador Federico Mayer at Yad Vashem on Monday to declare Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva unwelcome in Israel. This decision was in response to Lula da Silva’s remarks that equated the IDF’s operations in Gaza against Hamas with the Nazi genocide of Jews during the Holocaust.
“We will not forget nor forgive. It is a serious antisemitic attack,” Katz said in front of the press. “In my name and the name of the citizens of Israel – tell President Lula that he is persona non grata in Israel until he takes it back.”
During the meeting, Katz stressed the importance of conveying his message at the Holocaust memorial. He highlighted the memorial as a testament to the horrors the Nazis and Hitler inflicted on the Jews, and described the comparison of Israel’s military actions against Hamas to the atrocities of the Nazis as shameful.
Katz also led the Brazilian ambassador on a guided tour of Yad Vashem, where he displayed documents registering the murder of his relatives by the Nazis.
Speaking on condition of anonymity to The Times of Israel, an official said the Brazil’s ambassador seemed to “internalize the message.”
