Brazil’s Lula administration has reportedly withdrawn Brazil from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), stepping back from its observer status secured in 2021, in a move confirmed by Brazilian media and international Jewish organizations, though an official statement from Itamaraty remains pending. This development coincides with Brazil’s decision to formally join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), a legal action alleging that Israeli military operations in Gaza constitute genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
The dual moves have triggered sharp criticism from Israel’s Foreign Ministry, which condemned Brazil’s departure from IHRA amid its ICJ intervention as “a demonstration of profound moral failure,” cautioning that abandoning the global consensus against antisemitism while pursuing legal action against the Jewish state is both “reckless and shameful”. Likewise, the Combat Antisemitism Movement’s Hispanic Affairs Director labeled the withdrawal “deeply alarming,” accusing the Brazilian government of normalizing antisemitism and turning its back on Brazil’s sizable Jewish community, the second-largest in Latin America.
Brazil’s reported decision stems from diplomatic communications citing financial and legal constraints on fulfilling IHRA obligations, including membership dues, rather than an explicit repudiation of Holocaust remembrance itself, according to the letter delivered to IHRA headquarters. Still, IHRA leadership including president Dani Dayan and Yad Vashem officials warned the choice represents an unprecedented politicization of the alliance’s mission, underlining that no Western country has before subordinated Holocaust remembrance to current geopolitical disputes.
Brazil’s alignment with South Africa positions the country alongside Spain, Türkiye, Ireland and others in advocating for enhanced scrutiny of Israeli conduct in Gaza and the West Bank, and in calling for compliance with provisional measures issued by the ICJ’s January 2024 ruling to prevent acts contrary to the Genocide Convention. Brazil’s foreign ministry emphasized that its intervention reflects deep concern about repeated civilian harm and the use of starvation as a weapon, stating that international inaction would undermine both legality and multilateral credibility.
