‘NO PARALLEL’

Israel to Summon Brazilian Ambassador After Lula Compares Gaza ‘Genocide’ to Holocaust

Israeli outrage followed President Lula comparing what has unfolded in Gaza to “when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.” Lula also said Israeli actions amounted to “genocide.”

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sparked Israel’s outrage on Sunday after comparing the Middle Eastern nation’s actions in Gaza to Nazi Germany’s perpetration of the Holocaust. “What is happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people has no parallel in other historical moments. In fact, it did exist when Hitler decided to kill the Jews,” Lula said Sunday morning at a summit in Addis Ababa. “What’s happening in the Gaza Strip isn’t a war, it’s a genocide,” He added, “It’s not a war of soldiers against soldiers. It’s a war between a highly prepared army and women and children.” In response, Israeli cabinet members slammed the comparison and accused Lula of “trivializing” the Holocaust, once again invoking Israel’s right to defend itself. Its foreign minister, Israel Katz, said that Israel would summon the Brazilian ambassador for a “reprimand call” over the South American leader’s comments. “No one will harm Israel’s right to defend itself,” Katz said. In the country’s quest to “completely eradicate” Hamas from the Gaza Strip, it has killed almost 29,000 Palestinians and displaced nearly 2 million since October.