Lula denied using the word “Holocaust” when speaking about Israel. According to the president, the term was an “interpretation” of Netanyahu. “I didn’t expect the Israeli government to understand. I didn't expect it because I have known the citizen historically for some time and what he thinks ideologically,” he added, referring to the Israeli prime minister.
“We were the first to condemn Hamas's terrorist gesture,” he said. However, it is hypocrisy for Lula to criticize the extremist group and defend Israel's attacks on Gaza. “We cannot be hypocritical and think one death is different than another,” he said. “I cannot condemn Hamas’s terrorist gesture and imagine that the State of Israel (…) inflicts the same atrocities on innocent people.”
Lula's speeches about Hitler
Lula compared Israel's actions in the war to Hitler's death of the Jews. The statements were made on February 18 during a press conference after the president attended the 37th African Union Heads of State and Government Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. “Brazil has condemned Hamas, but it cannot help condemning the actions of the Israeli army,” he said (see below).
The speech sparked a strong reaction from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli prime minister called the comments “shameful and serious” and accused Lula of trivializing the Holocaust and insulting the Jewish people. “Make comparisons between Israel, the Nazis and… [Adolf] “Hitler is crossing a red line,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
Israel now considers Lula “persona non grata.” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on February 19 that Lula would not be welcome until he retracted his comments on the war. “We will neither forget nor forgive. This is a serious antiSemitic attack,” he said.