Even though the Gaza war brought about a diplomatic crisis between Israel and Brazil, to the extent that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva accused Israel of genocide, the Brazilian Senate has nevertheless determined that April 16 will be the official Holocaust Remembrance Day in the South American nation. The date is also the anniversary of the death of a Brazilian diplomat named Luis Martins de Souza Dantas, who was declared Righteous Among the Nations for saving hundreds of Jews from the Nazis.
2 View gallery
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza
(Photo: AFP)
The establishment of a Brazilian National Holocaust Remembrance Day was achieved following extensive work done by the Israeli embassy in Brazil, headed by ambassador Daniel Zonshine, and the Israel-Brazil Friendship Association. While this still requires a final authorization from Da Silva, it's somewhat unlikely he will oppose, given how bad such a move would look.
That said, Da Silva has been quite adamant about his opposition to Israel given the current conflict in Gaza, and his exploits have prompted Jerusalem to declare him as a Persona Non Grata. This prompted the Brazilian president to recall his ambassador from Tel Aviv, who hasn't returned to Israel in months.