Its ambassador to Israel was recalled by the government Brazil, while announcing that it will not appoint anyone to this position for the time being, according to Agence France-Presse. The decision comes amid tensions between the two countries linked to the war in Gaza.
The ambassador, Frederico Mayer, was initially called for consultations with his government, following the diplomatic crisis that erupted between Brazil and Israel in February due to the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The conditions “to return to Israel” are not met, a diplomatic source said today.
What came before
In February, Brazil’s left-wing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, provoked Israel’s ire by comparing the Israeli attack on Gaza to the extermination of Jews by the Nazis.
He was declared “persona non grata” by Jerusalem and Ambassador Meyer was summoned to a meeting at Yad Vashem, a museum and memorial dedicated to the Holocaust.
The Brazilian diplomat was later recalled to Brazil for consultations, and the Israeli ambassador in Brasília, in turn, was summoned by the head of Brazilian diplomacy.
The Brazilian diplomatic source explained today that the “humiliating treatment suffered” by Mayer at Yad Vashem led to the decision to definitively remove the ambassador.
Chargé d’affaires Fabio Farias will be responsible for representing Brazil in Tel Aviv and Lula will not appoint a new ambassador for now.
Sources: AMPE, AFP