18 February 2024
Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan strongly condemned the remarks made by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, asserting that they are not only outrageous but also deeply hateful and indicative of ignorance. Dayan emphasized that President Lula da Silva's statements,
"exhibit clear antisemitism, a stance consistent with the definition provided by the IHRA, an organization Brazil itself aims to join. Drawing false comparisons between the defensive actions of a sovereign nation protecting its citizens from a terrorist incursion, which resulted in the tragic deaths of over 1,200 innocent civilians, and the heinous atrocities committed by the Nazis, who systematically exterminated 6 million Jews, is unacceptable."
Dayan called for unequivocal rejection and condemnation of such rhetoric by the international community. Dayan concluded by stating that it is,
"extremely disappointing that the Brazilian leader, a country of significant stature, would resort to distorting the Holocaust and propagating antisemitic sentiments in such a blatant manner."
