Brazilian position for gaza

The major development in the Brazilian position was represented by Brazilian President Lula da Silva's comparison, on February 18, of Israel's actions in Gaza to what Nazi leader Adolf Hitler did to the Jews, accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinian civilians.

Since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, Brazil has taken remarkable positions towards the Palestinian people, which varied between statements denouncing the brutal massacres committed by the Israeli occupation against civilians, and supporting international resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire, in addition to steps Supportive of the Palestinian cause.

The major development in the Brazilian position was represented by Brazilian President Lula da Silva, on February 18, likening Israel's practices in Gaza to what the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler did to the Jews, accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.

This came on the sidelines of the African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, where Lula da Silva said that “what happened to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip has never happened at any time in history,” adding that “that happened when the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler decided to kill "The Jews."

These statements sparked a diplomatic crisis between the two countries, and Israel summoned the Brazilian ambassador to reprimand him and made it clear that Brazilian President Lula da Silva was an “unwelcome person” in the country. As a result, Brazil asked its ambassador to Tel Aviv, Frederico Mayer, to return to the country “for consultations.”

These positions in support of the Palestinian people's cause are seen by many analysts as not related to the ongoing bloody war launched by the Israeli occupation only after the "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation, but rather as an extension of a long history of positions in support of Palestinian rights.

Historical dimension

The historical dimension is evident in the strong relationship between the advanced leftist forces in Latin American countries in general, and Brazil in particular, and between the Palestinian liberation forces, most notably the Palestine Liberation Organization, as Brazil was one of the first countries to recognize the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people in 1975. It received a permanent representative in its capital, Brasilia.

This relationship was strong and rooted between the two parties to the point that a group of liberation forces in Latin America were trained by activists from the Palestinian resistance in the PLO, and in return, cadres from the PLO were trained by leaders from the liberation movements in Latin America, according to the Palestinian researcher in science. Politician Fadi Gomaa.

Jumaa explained in his interview with TRT news that “this cooperation has reached the stage of material support, represented by arms and money, in addition to support through political positions in international forums.”

In 2010, Brazil recognized the Palestinian state on the 1967 borders during the visit of current President da Silva to Ramallah, during his second term in office, and after his return as president for the third time in 2023, Lula da Silva renewed his previous positions and affirmed that “his country will stand strongly in support of the Palestinian right.” It will be a support for the efforts of the State of Palestine in international forums.”

As an expression of the Palestinian factions’ satisfaction with the left’s rule of Brazil, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said after the election of President da Silva for the third time that the return of the left to power in Brazil constitutes “a qualitative addition to the camp of liberation, progress and democracy,” considering it “an important step in the direction of supporting the peoples struggling from Yes, it will be liberated like the Palestinian people.”

The influence of Arab communities

The number of Arabs in Brazil and those of Arab descent is 11.61 million people, or 6% of the total population, according to statistics conducted by the Brazilian Institute for Opinion and Statistics (IBOPE). Most of them are of Levantine origins (Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine), and Arabs have held a number of positions. The country's major political figure, until President Michel Temer assumed the presidency of Brazil in 2016, and he is an Arab of Lebanese origins.

This community plays a central role in encouraging the authorities in Brazil to support the Palestinian cause, according to international law professor Raej Abu Badawiya, who confirms that this matter is not limited to Brazil alone, as this extends to a number of Latin American countries that have witnessed many Arab immigration since First World War.

In his interview with TRT news, Abu Badawiya points out that the integration of this community into political life in Brazil and their access to distinguished positions had an impact on the official Brazilian position towards the Arab-Israeli conflict.

In addition to President Michel Temer, a number of figures reached the presidency in Latin American countries, including former Colombian President Julio Cesar Tarabay (1978-1982), who was the son of a Lebanese immigrant, and Carlos Menem, who ruled Argentina (1989-1999) and who comes from a Syrian family. While Ecuador had two presidents, Abdullah Bukaram (1996-1997) and Jamil Mahoud (1998-2000), while in Honduras there was Carlos Flores Vacosa (1998-2002), of Syrian origin.

Freedom from colonialism and dictatorship

The peoples of Latin America in general, including Brazil, suffered bitter experiences with the Western colonial system, which supported the dictatorial forces controlling Latin American countries, as there were authoritarian dictatorial regimes supported by the United States and Israel that controlled Latin American countries, as Fadi Jumaa shows.

The political science researcher explains that these positions and bad history made the countries and peoples of Latin America side with the anti-American and anti-Israeli liberation forces, led by the Palestinian liberation forces.

In turn, Abu Badawiya confirms that Brazil - especially under the leadership of the left - is trying to find a distinguished position on the international scene in which it distances itself from the Western world and the United States, not only economically but politically as well.

The international law professor points out that Brazilian President da Silva seeks to place Brazil among the important active powers on the international scene, and to reserve a seat for it at the table of powerful countries capable of directing the global debate.

In the same way, Brazil, which held the rotating presidency of the Security Council when the Hamas attacks occurred on October 7, hastened to negotiate a Security Council resolution that would help reduce the escalation.

Brazil has long sought greater representation in an expanded Security Council, and when it assumed the rotating presidency of the Council last October, Brazil called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to “avoid escalation” between the Palestinians and Israelis.

Brazil assumed the presidency of the G20 Summit in December 2023, and over the course of February 21 and 22, it hosted a meeting of foreign ministers of the G20 countries, and at that time Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira accused the Security Council of “paralysis” due to its inability to adopt a resolution. To stop the war in Gaza and Ukraine.

Shifting global public opinion

When it launched the war against Gaza, Israel used scenes of Israeli towns surrounding the Gaza Strip on October 7, and gained Western support, especially from the United States. However, with the appearance of images of destruction and killing in Gaza, international public opinion began to lean in favor of the Palestinians, which is what It has already happened and is still being expressed in demonstrations in Arab, European and international capitals, including in the United States.

The barbaric war waged by the Israeli occupation army led to a general change in the position of peoples around the world, and not just the peoples of Latin America. Researcher Fadi Jumaa attributes the reason for this to images of massacres and civilian and child victims on television screens and social media.

Jumaa explains this change by saying, “The world is now witnessing fundamental shifts in its alignments and transformations with or against the Palestinian cause. That is, the world is redistributing itself. There are forces in the West that were historically against the Palestinian cause, but now they are showing their public support for the rights of the Palestinian people.”

Israeli Channel 12 confirmed last November that, “After a month has passed , we are facing a new reality; the pictures that shine in the international media are pictures of killing and destruction in Gaza, not pictures of the massacre in Israeli settlements,” as she put it.

Earlier, monitoring by the Armed Conflict Locations and Events Data Group (ACLED) organization showed that the first three weeks of the war witnessed approximately 4,200 protests around the world, about 90% of which were pro-Palestinian.

This transformation is not limited to people only, but was evident at the level of states and governments during the vote on the ceasefire resolution in Gaza at the United Nations last November, as 153 countries in the United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of the “resolution,” compared to Washington, Israel and only 8 countries rejected it.