Brazilian President Lula da Silva, who is currently on a visit to the Middle East, has not visited the grave of Theodor Herzl in Jerusalem, but does plan to go to the grave of former PLO leader Yasser Arafat in Ramallah. “It is an insult to Israel’s citizens and to Zionist communities around the world, including to the Jewish community in Brazil.” the treasurer of the World Zionist Organization, Hagai Merom, said in a statement.
Brazilian officials said the fact that Lula did not make the visit to the Herzl grave was due to a scheduling conflict. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has refused to meet with Lula after the Brazilian president said he would not visit the grave of Herzl. The founder of the Zionist movement, whose 150th birthday will be celebrated in May, is buried on Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl. Sources close to Lieberman said Lula broke with protocol for visiting heads of state by not paying a visit to Herzl’s burial place.
On Monday, Lula - who is the first Brazilian president to visit the region - paid a visit to the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem in Jerusalem and laid a wreath there (see picture above). He also addressed a special session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, and called for a Middle East free of nuclear weapons. "Brazil is proud that there are no nuclear weapons in Latin America and we want this to be an example for other regions in the world," he said.
The Brazilian leader, who will leave office at the end of this year, also spoke of his vision for peace between Israel and its neighbors. "In Brazil, ten million Arabs live in harmony with thousands of Jews," he said. "We hope for this to be used as a metaphor for seeking deep understanding in the Middle East."
Earlier, Netanyahu welcomed Lula to the Knesset and called on him to join the effort to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. "I believe that the Iranian authorities represent entirely different values than you do. They represent tyranny and cruelty, you represent openness and tolerance. They honor death and you celebrate life. Iran denies the Holocaust, calls for the destruction of Israel, is developing nuclear weapons and supports terrorist organizations," Netanyahu told Lula.
Over the past months, Brazil’s president has repeatedly opposed more sanctions against Iran. President Shimon Peres told his counterpart that Iran was not Israel’s enemy. "Our enemy is the extremist, fanatical leadership of Ahmadinejad who speaks openly about the eradication of Israel,” he said, adding: “It is clear to us, beyond any doubt, that Iran is building nuclear weapons for mass extermination and not for peaceful energy needs. Likewise, it continues to support and arm terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah, the former of which undermines peace with the Palestinians and the latter of which divides Lebanon."