Foreign Minister Israel Katz declared on Monday that Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is considered persona non grata in Israel until he apologizes for comments he made, likening Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip to Nazi despot Adolf Hitler's treatment of the Jews during World War II.
More stories:
Katz made the remarks during a tour of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem with the Brazilian Ambassador to Israel Frederico Meyer followed by a stern reprimand at the Foreign Ministry.
2 View gallery
Foreign Minister Israel Katz (left) and Brazilian Ambassador to Israel Frederico Meyer (center) during tour of Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem
"We will not forget and we will not forgive. This is a serious antisemitic 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 said.
"I brought you to a place that testifies more than anything else to what the Nazis and Hitler did to the Jews, including my family members," the Israeli foreign minister explained the choice of meeting at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center.
"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 antisemitic attack," he added.
The Brazilian president produced harsh statements against Israel Sunday afternoon, not only accusing it of genocide in Gaza but also comparing its actions to the extermination of the Jewish people by Hitler and the Nazis.
"What's happening in the Gaza Strip isn't a war, it's a genocide," Lula told reporters in Addis Ababa where he was attending an African Union summit.
"It's not a war of soldiers against soldiers. It's a war between a highly prepared army and women and children," added the veteran leftist. "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."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Lula’s comments “trivialized the Holocaust” and “crossed a red line.” He also accused Lula of being a “virulent antisemite.”