Brazilian president elect Jair Bolsonaro plans to honor his campaign pledge to move the Brazilian embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Most countries have their embassies in Tel Aviv, due to the disputed status of Jerusalem . The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem, which was captured..
Brazilian president-elect Jair Bolsonaro plans to honour his campaign pledge to move the Brazilian embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Background
Most countries have their embassies in Tel Aviv, due to the disputed status of Jerusalem. The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as the capital of a future state. Israel claims all of the city, including the eastern sector, home to Jerusalem’s most important religious sites as its eternal capital. Most countries maintain embassies in Tel Aviv, saying the final status of Jerusalem must be determined through negotiations. Congress had passed a law in 1995 recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Bolsonaro announced his pre-candidacy for president of Brazil in March 2016 as a member of the Social Christian Party. However, he left the party in 2018 and joined the Social Liberal Party, which launched his presidential campaign in August 2018. He was elected with 55% of the popular vote. Bolsonaro is known for his fiery rhetoric and nationalist stances.
Analysis
Bolsonaro said on Thursday that he will move Brazil’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem — following a similar move by President Donald Trump last year. Bolsonaro had pledged during his campaign to transfer the Brazilian Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Jair Bolsonaro says Israel is a sovereign country and that Brazil will respect its decision regarding its capital. During his campaign, Bolsonaro had proposed the move saying he said that he will close the Palestinian embassy in the capital, Brasilia, on the grounds that “Palestine is not a country”.
The announcement was soon welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who issued a statement calling the move “exciting” – “I congratulate my friend Brazilian President-Elect, Jair Bolsonaro, for his intention to move the Brazilian Embassy to Jerusalem, a historic, correct and exciting step!” he said. Following his victory, Netanyahu told Bolsonaro he was certain his election “will lead to a great friendship between our peoples and the tightening of links between Brazil and Israel.”
A senior Palestinian official Friday condemned Brazilian far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro’s announcement that he would move his country’s Israel embassy to occupied Jerusalem. “These are provocative and illegal steps that will only destabilize security and stability in the region,” said Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee.
Hamas also condemned the Brazilian announcement. “We consider this a hostile step against the Palestinian people and the Arabic and Islamic world,” spokesman Sami Abu Zahri wrote on Twitter.
The move by Bolsonaro is likely to foster good relations with the Trump administration, which has always made positive sounds about Bolsonaro’s election. Bolsonaro has praised Trump and has indicated he would also like to join the U.S. in pulling out of the Paris climate agreement. Some Brazilians have raised concerns about the idea, saying it would hurt Brazil’s relations with Muslim nations. Former Brazilian ambassador to the US, Rubens Barbosa has warned that such a move could hurt Brazil’s poultry exports. He said that Brazil “would be throwing away $6bn per year in poultry sales to Arab countries”. Other countries, including several in Europe, have criticized the move, saying it was not helpful to peace in the Middle East. The move will make Brazil the third country, behind the U.S. and Guatemala, to move their embassies to Jerusalem.
Last December, US President Donald Trump reversed a longstanding policy and recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, prompting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to boycott his administration. But Trump supporters say that the move was the delayed implementation of the law that was passed by the Congress in 1995 recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Bolsonaro’s first foreign trips as president will be to Israel, the United States and Chile — countries that “share our worldview,” according to the president-elect’s future for chief of staff, Onyx Lorenzoni.
Assessment
Our assessment is that Bolsonaro has expressed his admiration for Donald Trump and appears to follow the US president in radical reconditioning of foreign policies. Just like Trump’s rhetoric incites radicalism, Brazil may also see the rise of the far right in the near future. So far, the countries that have been supportive of Israel have made some effort to understand and respond to the Palestinian narrative but this recent move is likely to create fissures in the Arab world.
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