Israel-Hamas war live updates: Netanyahu 'absolutely rejects' Palestinian state
NBCMar 03
Brazil-Israel Row Over Gaza-Holocaust Comparison Escalates
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The Facts
Brazil's foreign ministry confirmed on Monday that its ambassador to Israel has been recalled for talks and that the Israeli ambassador to Brazil would be summoned amid a diplomatic row over Pres. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's comparison between the war in Gaza and the Holocaust.
This comes as Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz summoned Brazilian Ambassador Frederico Meyer for a reprimand during an atypical meeting and tour at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, declaring Lula "persona non grata" until he withdraws his comments.
The Spin
Pro-Palestine narrative
In the wake of the horrors of the Holocaust, the world has pledged to never again allow a similar tragedy to be repeated. Yet, no one is doing anything to protect Gazans as they are being brutally killed in genocidal proportions by the Israeli occupation in its ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip. Hopefully, the words of Lula will inspire the international community to halt this atrocity.
Pro-Israel narrative
While one may argue that Israel has been somewhat harsh in its war against the genocidal Hamas, comparing its actions to that of Nazis is nothing but an outrageous and bad-faith attempt to appropriate the Holocaust and trample on the traumatic history of the Jewish community. If Israel intended to exterminate Gaza's entire population as claimed, it wouldn't allow — let alone warn — the civilian population to stay out of the way.
