Brazil opens trade office in Jerusalem, hailed as harbinger of embassy move

December 15, 2019

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Tags: Brazil, embassy move, harbinger, Jerusalem, trade office

‘We’re not going to do something extraordinary. We’re doing a normal thing — to recognize your capital,’ declares Eduardo Bolsonaro, the president’s son and a senior MP

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at an event opening the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency in Jerusalem, December 15, 2019.

Raphael Ahren writes in Times of Israel, “Brazil on Sunday officially opened a trade office in Jerusalem, a move that senior officials said was a harbinger of the South American country moving its embassy to the Israeli capital next year. At the event, Eduardo Bolsonaro, a senior lawmaker and the son of Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, reiterated his government’s pledge to relocate the embassy to Jerusalem soon.”

“You have political arguments, you have historical arguments. You have a bunch of arguments to recognize that Jerusalem is your capital. So we’re not going to do something extraordinary. We’re doing a normal thing — to recognize your capital,” he said. Brazil on Sunday officially opened a trade office in Jerusalem, a move that senior officials said was a harbinger of the South American country moving its embassy to the Israeli capital next year.”

“At the event, Eduardo Bolsonaro, a senior lawmaker and the son of Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, reiterated his government’s pledge to relocate the embassy to Jerusalem soon…Brazil is currently still studying the implications of transferring its embassy to Jerusalem, Bolsonaro said, stressing that when the relocation happens, it should inspire other Latin American nations to follow suit.”

Eduardo Bolsonaro, Brazilian federal deputy and son of Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, speaks an event opening the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency in Jerusalem, December 15, 2019.

“If we’re doing this move in a smart way, for sure other countries will be comfortable to do the same, and that’s what we expect,” he said, speaking in English. The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, known as Apex-Brasil, operates under the auspices of the country’s foreign ministry, but does not have diplomatic status. Three people — one Brazilian and two local hires — will work from the new Jerusalem office, located in the city’s Har Hotzvim tech park.” (more…)