Newly elected Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro may withhold recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel during his upcoming visit to the Middle East, possibly reneging on a campaign pledge.
Opposition from military officers in Brazil’s cabinet may hinder Bolsonaro from relocating Brazil’s Israeli embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, JewishPress.com has reported.
Bolsonaro, supported by evangelicals who comprise about 27 percent of Brazil’s population, is among a small list of nations who have pledged to honor the Israeli capital of Jerusalem in diplomatic relations, although some have stopped short of relocating their embassies there.
Bolsonaro will visit Israel March 31 – April 2 in the last leg of his first official international travel as president. He met with U.S. President Donald Trump, whom he has praised, at the White House March 19 before visiting Chile.
Brazil is the world’s ninth-largest economy and, according to the U.S. State Department, the U.S. is Brazil’s second-largest trading partner.
Trump in May 2018 relocated the U.S. Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, drawing criticism from the United Nations but praise from evangelicals in the U.S. and elsewhere.
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Source: Baptist Press
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