Brazil’s Jewish community welcomes Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on first-of-a-kind visit

30 Dec 2018

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with representatives of the Jewish community of Brazil on Sunday on an official visit to Rio de Janeiro. Israeli PM Netanyahu speaking to Brazil's Jewish leaders. (Courtesy / Conib)

Fernando Lottenberg, president of Conib, the umbrella organization of Jewish communities and an affiliate of the World Jewish Congress, took part in the meeting, which he relayed as being held in a warm atmosphere. This trip was the first of its kind, as Netanyahu is the first sitting Israeli prime minister in history to pay an official visit to Brazil.

Netanyahu told the Jewish leaders that he has high expectations for the new Brazilian government administration, which will be inaugurated next Tuesday.

The prime minister met with President-elect Jair Bolsonaro during his visit and spoke of his brotherly relationship with the incoming Brazilian leader. According to Netanyahu, Bolsonaro said that the move of the Brazilian embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is a matter of when, not if.