State of Israel

Diplomatic relations between Brazil and Israel were established in 1949. An important reference of this relationship is the role played by the Brazilian diplomat and former minister Oswaldo Aranha as chair of the United Nations General Assembly session which approved the partition plan of Palestine. Since then, the bilateral agenda has been marked by great dynamism and now covers many areas and themes of mutual interest. The presence of a significant Jewish community in Brazil (estimated at 120,000 people), the tenth largest in the world, greatly contributes to the fruitful relationship between Brazil and Israel.

In recent years, agreements have been signed in the fields of defense, science, technology and innovation, public security, air services, and others. Initiatives of bilateral cooperation include the following areas: technical cooperation, humanitarian cooperation, defense, cybersecurity, education, science, technology and innovation, and healthcare.

Israel was the first country outside Latin America to establish a free trade agreement with Mercosur. The agreement was signed in Montevideo in December 2007 and came into effect in Brazil in April 2010.

In the commercial field, Israel has been one of Brazil's main partners in the Middle East over the past decade. In 2024, it was the sixth largest partner, behind Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Oman, and Iraq.

Between 2014 and 2024, bilateral trade increased from $1.3 billion to $1.9 billion. Historically, Brazil has had an unfavourable trade balance with Israel. In 2024, trade decreased by 6.9% compared to 2023. Brazilian exports amounted to $725.1 million. Brazilian main exports were crude oil or bituminous mineral oils (30%), fresh, chilled or frozen beef (20%), and soybeans (11%). Brazilian imports from Israel — with chemical fertilizers (excluding raw) as the main item (38%) — totaled $1.1 billion. The Brazilian deficit was of $425.7 million.

Brazil maintains its historic commitment to the two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with an independent and viable State of Palestine living side by side with Israel, in peace and security, within the 1967 borders, including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Chronology of bilateral relations

2023 – Minister of Communications Juscelino Filho visits Israel

2022 – Minister of Communications Fabio Faria visits Israel

2021 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Ernesto Araújo visits Israel

2019 – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Brazil to participate in the presidential inauguration

Minister of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications Marcos Pontes visits Israel

President Jair Bolsonaro visits Israel

The President of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court, Dias Toffoli, visits Israel

2018 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Aloysio Nunes Ferreira visits Israel

Isreael’s Minister of Science, Technology and Space Minister Ofir Akunis visits Brazil

Minister of Defense Joaquim Silva e Luna visits Israel

2017 – Health Minister Ricardo Barros visits Israel

Minister of Human Rights Luislinda Valois visits Israel

Minister of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services, Marcos Pereira visits Israel

The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Rodrigo Maia, visits Israel

2016 –Minister of Education Naftali Bennet visits Brazil

Minister of Culture and Sports Miri Regev visits Brazil on the occasion of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Minister of Foreign Affairs José Serra visits Israel on the occasion of the funeral of President Shimon Peres

2015 – The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Eduardo Cunha, visits Israel

2013 – Health Minister Alexandre Padilha visits Israel

Vice President of the Republic Michel Temer visits Israel

Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Marcelo Crivella visits Israel

2012 – Minister of Science and Technology Daniel Hershkowitz visits Brazil

Foreign Minister Antônio de Aguiar Patriota visits  Israel

2011 – Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Orit Noked visits Brazil

Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Shalom Simhon visits Brazil

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Affairs Moshe Ya'alon visits Brazil

Minister of National Integration Fernando Bezerra visits  Israel

2010 –President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visits  Israel

The  Mercosur-Israel Free Trade Agreement enters into force for Brazil

Minister of Defense  Nelson Jobim visits Israel

Minister of Foreign Affairs Celso Amorim visits Israel

Minister of Tourism Luís Eduardo Barretto visits Israel

The Chief Minister of the Institutional Security Cabinet, General Jorge Armando Felix, visits Israel

2009 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Celso Amorim visits Israel

Minister of Foreign Affairs  Avigdor Liebermann visits São Paulo and Brasília  

President Shimon Peres visits Brasília, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro

2008 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Celso Amorim visits Brazil

2007 – Environment Minister Marina Silva visits Israel

2006 – Education Minister Fernando Haddad visits Israel

2005 – Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visits Brasília

Minister of Foreign Affairs Celso Amorim visits Israel

1995 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Luiz Felipe Lampreia visits Israel

1987 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Shimon Peres visits Brazil

1973 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Abba Eban visits Brazil

1971 – The Israeli Embassy is transferred to Brasília

1970 – Foreign Minister Mário Gibson Barbosa visits Israel

1959 – Foreign Minister Golda Meir visits Brazil

1958 – Elevation of the Brazilian Legation in Tel Aviv to embassy status

1955 – Opening of the Israeli Embassy in Rio de Janeiro

1951 – Opening of the Brazilian Legation in Tel Aviv

1951 – Vice President of the Republic Café Filho visits Israel

1949 – Establishment of bilateral relations

1947 – With a vote in favor from Brazil and under the presidency of Brazilian Oswaldo Aranha, the United Nations General Assembly approves the partition of Mandatory Palestine into two States by Resolution 181 (II) of November 29