Brazil’s Lula talks with president of Israel Isaac Herzog

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received a phone call this Thursday afternoon (November 16) from the president of Israel Isaac Herzog. The call lasted around 40 minutes. President Herzog spoke of his concern about the hostages that were kidnapped by Hamas — several of them from Latin America —, and asked President Lula to reinforce the call for their release alongside other Latin American countries.

As well as committing to the request, President Lula mentioned that he has already called for the release of all hostages in conversations with several leaders in the Middle East (Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Qatar, Egypt, Palestinian Authority) — and France, Russia and India. He reported having held a video conference with Israeli family members of the hostages.

Lula thanked Israel’s support for the repatriation of 32 Brazilian citizens and their families from Gaza, and stated that a new list of Brazilians and their Palestinian relatives is being prepared. He said he was certain that he would continue to count on the support of the Israeli government in this regard. President Herzog, in turn, said that every effort will be made to allow these citizens to leave Gaza as quickly as possible.

President Lula reaffirmed Brazil's tradition of being a peaceful country, where Jews and Arabs have always lived alongside each other. He also reiterated that he strongly rejects any manifestations of anti-Semitism — and the Brazilian government's commitment to curbing it.

Lula also said that Brazil was part of the creation of the State of Israel and that he remains convinced of the importance of the two-state solution — in which Israel and Palestine may live side by side within secure and mutually accepted borders.

In this regard, Lula reported Brazil's efforts to reform multilateral governance bodies, striving to make them more efficient in preventing and resolving conflicts such as the ongoing war in the Middle East. Lula said he was greatly concerned about the extremely serious humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and dismayed by the loss of lives, particularly children’s.