The Media Line: Israel Downgrades Diplomatic Ties After Brazil Rejects Envoy Nominee

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Israel Downgrades Diplomatic Ties After Brazil Rejects Envoy Nominee  

By The Media Line Staff  

Israel has downgraded diplomatic relations with Brazil after the South American nation declined to approve Jerusalem’s nominee for ambassador, the Foreign Ministry confirmed Monday.  

The ministry said Brazil had “unusually” failed to respond to a formal request to accredit Ambassador Gali Dagan. Israel subsequently withdrew his nomination, leaving the two countries to conduct ties at a reduced diplomatic level. “Relations between the countries are now being conducted at a lower diplomatic level,” the ministry’s statement read.  

Officials in Jerusalem attributed the deterioration to what they described as a “critical and hostile line that Brazil has displayed toward Israel” since Hamas launched its October 7, 2023, terrorist massacre. They said the friction had deepened following repeated remarks by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.  

Last year, Lula accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, likening the conflict to Nazi Germany’s extermination of Jews during the Holocaust. Israel declared him persona non grata in response, with officials calling the comparison both offensive and dangerous. Brazil also joined South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide, and in July withdrew from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, where it had held observer status since 2021.  

Brazil has not had an ambassador in Israel since recalling its envoy last year. Jerusalem noted, however, that ties remain with “Israel’s many circles of friends in Brazil.”  

The dispute recalls a 2015 episode when Brazil refused to receive Israeli diplomat Dani Dayan. This latest clash places relations once again at a low point, with no immediate comment from Brasilia on Israel’s announcement.