After Year-and-a-Half, Brazil Approves Israeli Ambassador

After a year-and-a-half during which Israel had no ambassador in Brasilia, the government there has approved Yossi Sheli, a Likud member chosen by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to fill the post.

In the summer of 2015, Brazil rejected Dani Dayan because of his background as former head of Yesha, the Council of Jewish Communities in Yehudah and Shomron. Palestinians, left-wing NGOs and left-wing Israelis objected to the Dayan appointment.

Brazil and Israel were stalemated since then. In the meantime, Dayan was appointed consul general in New York in August 2016.

The new appointment reflects a turn for the better in bilateral relations after the impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff last year.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry declared: “There is no doubt that this appointment will promote friendship between the two countries and further relations across many spheres, including economy and trade. Brazil is the seventh-largest economy in the world and the home of an important and Zionist Jewish community.”