Israel's Netanyahu slams Brazilian president's comparison of Gaza war to the Holocaust

Israel has condemned Brazil’s president for comparing the war in Gaza to the Holocaust, accusing him of being antisemitic and trivializing the Nazi genocide of European Jews during World War II

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL -- Israel on Sunday condemned Brazil's president for comparing the war in Gaza to the Holocaust, accusing him of being antisemitic and trivializing the Nazi genocide of European Jews during World War II.

The outcry further strained relations between the countries, which have deteriorated since President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva returned to office last year. Lula has portrayed himself as a leader of the “ Global South,” a loosely defined group of developing countries.

Speaking to reporters at the African Union summit in Ethiopia, Lula said that “what is happening in the Gaza Strip and to the Palestinian people hasn’t been seen in any other moment in history. Actually, it did when Hitler decided to kill the Jews."

Such comments strike a raw nerve in Israel, a country established as a haven for Jews in the wake of the Holocaust. Israel rejects any comparisons of its conduct in the war in Gaza to the Holocaust.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Lula's comments “trivialized the Holocaust” and “crossed a red line.” He also accused Lula of being a “virulent anti-Semite.”