Brazilian presidential candidate pledges to move embassy to Jerusalem

The leading candidate in the impending Brazilian elections vowed to move his nation’s embassy to Jerusalem and declared, “Palestine is not a country, so there should be no embassy [in Brazil].”

By: World Israel News Staff

The front-runner in Brazil’s race for president, Jair Bolsonaro, recently announced his intention to move Brazil’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, reported JTA.

Bolsonaro added on Tuesday that if elected he would shutter the Palestinian Authority’s “embassy” in Brasilia, commenting, “Is Palestine a country? Palestine is not a country, so there should be no embassy here.”

The comments were made in a series of televised interviews in the run-up to Brazil’s elections in November, with Bolsonaro averring during one of the sit-downs, “You do not negotiate with terrorists.”

While Bolsonaro has remained a staunch supporter of the Jewish state, Brazil recognized “Palestine” as an “independent state” in 2010 under Luis Inacio Lula da Silva’s administration. A far-left politician, da Silva formed alliances with terrorist regimes such as Iran and Libya.

On da Silva’s watch, Brazil provided a $10 million donation to Hamas, with his successor Dilma Rousseff maintaining the anti-Israel party line until her 2016 impeachment.

Brazil’s leftist workers’ party is currently promoting da Silva’s own improbable campaign, notwithstanding the fact that the former president is serving 12 years in prison for money laundering and corruption.

According to the JTA report, Bolsonaro expressed support for Israel at Rio’s Hebraica Club in 2017, and his three sons, also politicians, have recently been photographed in T-shirts bearing Hebrew messages.