The antisemitic Lula da Silva rejected Israel's ambassadorial candidate to Brazil.

Relations between Israel and Brazil have entered a new phase of tension after the Israeli government announced that it will reduce the diplomatic level with the South American country.

The decision came after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva refused to accept the Israeli candidate for ambassador in Brasília, Gali Dagan.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that, after months without an official response to Dagan's accreditation request, it was decided to withdraw the application. From now on, bilateral relations will be maintained at a level below that of ambassador.

Meanwhile, Jerusalem declared Lula persona non grata, deepening the diplomatic crisis.

Ties between both countries have strongly deteriorated since Lula returned to power in 2023.

The Brazilian president, founder of the Workers' Party, has adopted an openly critical stance toward Israel in the context of the war against Hamas and the conflict in Gaza.

Last June, during a visit to France, Lula accused Israel of committing a "premeditated genocide" against the Palestinians and described the recognition of a Palestinian state as a "moral and human duty".

Already in February 2024, the Brazilian president had caused a major scandal by comparing the situation in Gaza to the Holocaust, stating that "what is happening to the Palestinian people is only comparable to when Hitler decided to kill the Jews."

Israel replied at that time by declaring Lula persona non grata, with then-Foreign Minister Israel Katz calling his words "shameful" and "trivializing the Holocaust".

In May 2024, Brazil had withdrawn its ambassador to Israel, Federico Meyer, and to date has not appointed a replacement.

Despite the line set by Lula, the Brazilian Congress showed a different signal last December by deepening its legislative ties with Israel in a move interpreted as a counterweight to the Executive's foreign policy.

It is worth recalling that Brazil officially recognized the Palestinian state in 2010, during a previous presidency of Lula, a gesture that at the time was met with criticism from Jerusalem.

With this new decision by Israel, the diplomatic relations are reduced to a secondary level, reflecting an unprecedented distancing between both countries.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Lula's comparisons with the Holocaust are "unacceptable" and that the Brazilian president's statements seek "to harm the Jewish people and Israel in its right to defend itself".