Brazil and Israel Lower Diplomatic Ties After Ambassador Dispute

Brazil and Israel lowered the level of their diplomatic relations on August 25, 2025, after Brazil’s Foreign Ministry left unanswered Israel’s request for agrément for Gali Dagan as ambassador in Brasília.

The step follows months of strain caused by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s repeated accusations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Celso Amorim, Lula’s foreign affairs adviser and a former foreign minister, said Brazil’s silence responded to what he called the “public humiliation” of Brazil’s ambassador Frederico Meyer in 2024.

At that time, the Israeli government summoned Meyer to Yad Vashem after Lula compared Israel’s actions in Gaza to the Holocaust.

Amorim stated that Brazil did not veto the ambassador, but chose not to provide consent, recalling that Israel had humiliated its envoy and could not expect business as usual.

He insisted that Brazil seeks good relations with Israel but cannot accept atrocities in Gaza. Brazil had already withdrawn Meyer in May 2024 and never appointed a replacement.

In August 2025 Israel’s ambassador in Brasília, Daniel Zonshine, retired, leaving the post empty. Israel later withdrew Dagan’s nomination and declared it would no longer present a candidate, confirming relations would proceed at a lower diplomatic level.

The deterioration began in February 2024, when Israel declared Lula persona non grata after his Holocaust comparison. Brazil then pulled its ambassador from Tel Aviv, and since then both sides have limited representation to chargés d’affaires.

Despite the crisis, both embassies remain open. Trade and consular services continue, although without ambassadors political dialogue becomes slower and less direct.

Brazil–Israel trade reached about two billion US dollars in 2023, placing Israel as the 34th largest exporter to Brazil. Sectors such as agricultural technology remain important, even as political friction grows.

Tensions extend to multilateral arenas. In July 2025, Brazil announced it would join South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

This decision marked another break with Israel’s government and underscored how disagreements over Gaza affect wider diplomatic engagement.

The dispute also carries domestic weight. Brazil hosts roughly 120,000 Jewish citizens, according to the national confederation CONIB, making it one of the largest communities in Latin America.

Leaders have voiced concerns about how political disputes might influence cultural and commercial exchanges. The downgrade leaves relations at their lowest point in three decades.

Both governments keep their embassies functioning, but the absence of ambassadors on both sides reflects a deep political rupture.

Day-to-day cooperation continues, but the symbolic loss of top-level envoys confirms that Brazil and Israel now manage ties from a distance.

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