Sources: Netanyahu May Attend Inauguration of Brazil’s Bolsonaro

A Brazilian newspaper report Wednesday said that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu could fly to Brazil to participate in the inauguration of newly elected President Jair Bolsonaro. The inauguration is set to take place on January 1st. With the visit, Netanyahu would be the first Israeli prime minister to visit Brazil.

The report in the Folia de Sao Paolo Wednesday quoted Brazilian officials as saying that Netanyahu had initiated a discussion about a possible visit, highlighted by the inauguration. Israeli officials were quoted by Yediot Achronot as saying that there was a “good chance” that the Israeli prime minister will attend the event. However, a final decision has not been made.

Netanyahu earlier this week congratulated Bolsonaro for his victory. In a social media post, the prime minister said that he had “congratulated [Bolsonaro] on his victory. I told him I’m certain his election will lead to a great friendship between our peoples and a strengthening of Brazil-Israel ties. We are waiting for his visit to Israel.”

The conservative Bolsonaro won 55 percent of the votes in Sunday’s runoff election. In August, Bolsonaro pledged to follow the lead of President Donald Trump and move his country’s embassy to Yerushalayim. “Is Palestine a country? Palestine is not a country, so there should be no embassy here,” he said. “You do not negotiate with terrorists,” he added.