A delegation of 11 members of Congress, opinion leaders, journalists, and Brazilian business and religious leaders arrived in Israel last week to support and embrace Israel. The delegation included members of Congress Christian Lopes from the state of Rondônia and Carla Zambelli from Sao Paulo, the president of the international community Brazil-Israel Reverend Jane Silva, the model and opinion leader Desiree Rugani, as well as members of TV, radio, and printed press. The delegation that stayed in Israel for six days was accompanied by international advocacy activist, attorney Dvorah Srour Politis, who is ranked third on the list of the Meuhadim party led by Aryeh King for the Jerusalem City Council elections.
The visit included a particularly tight schedule during which the delegation conducted a comprehensive tour of the destroyed settlements in the Gaza Envelope, among other things, a tour of Kibbutz Nir Oz and were exposed to the sights of the homes of dozens of elderly women, children and men that were kidnapped, the sight of burned houses and cars and the smell of death and fire still in the air three months after the pogrom. The group also visited the car cemetery where Zaka is still working, trying to find remains and identify victims of the massacre.
From there, the delegation continued to the city of Sderot, which was also badly hit on the seventh of October, and learned about the Iron Dome at one of the military bases in the south of the country. In Raanana the group visited with several immigrant Brazilian families whose children are serving on the fighting front and heard from them about the difficulty and challenges they are facing. The tour also included the visit of families of the kidnapped in Tel Aviv and of Israeli evacuees who had been evacuated to various hotels in Jerusalem and the temporary schools that were set for their children. The group was received in the Knesset by MK Moshe Saada and at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Yehudah Gonen, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israel Mission in Brazil, and Omer Chechek, Director for the Caribbean and Brazil.
The delegation visited Yad Vashem and the headquarters of the IDF Spokesperson, where they saw the 47-minute movie of the massacre, going over extremely difficult clips recorded by the security cameras and the victims’ and Go Pro cameras that were on the Hamas terrorists on October 7th, some of whom left the viewing crying and shocked and shared that it was the worst experience they had ever had. The delegation also conducted a Geopolitical and Strategic tour of Jerusalem with the NGO Im Eshkachech to learn about the influence of Hamas in the Holy City. They also heard a presentation by David Bedein about the nefarious education system the Palestinian children are exposed to. Finally, they met with Rudy Glazer, the brother of the Brazilian fallen soldier Chanan Glazer.
"The visit to Israel left very difficult impressions and left them shocked and pained as throughout the days of the visit; they updated the millions of readers and followers online. They uploaded photos and videos to their media and repeated that the sights and horrors they saw up close are much different from the information to which the residents of Brazil are exposed. The visit to Nir Oz, for example, had a great impact on them, and the visit with the families really moved them, and they all bought and wore the plaque of the return of the abductees," the organizers stated.
During the visit to Israel, Saror Politis discussed with the delegation the statement of Brazil's ambassador to Israel, Frederico Mayer, who stated in an interview with one of the largest Brazilian media networks: "I do not understand the position of Hamas and what is its interest in returning abductees since they are the best currency they have to stop Israel from bombing Gaza" he said, following which he was summoned to the Foreign Ministry and reprimanded.
"When I was exposed to the interview the ambassador gave to one of the largest networks in Brazil, I was shocked when he compared the abductees to a tradable currency, and I made sure to convey his words to the IDF spokesman and the Foreign Ministry, and as a result, he was summoned to a reprimand conversation. I also made sure to publish the things he said in the media. It was published in Israel and widely in Brazil as well as among the politicians, and everyone was shocked by his words. The two Congress representatives of our delegation insisted on visiting the ambassador and conveying their dismay and protest of his statements. They asked to know if the ambassador had visited the south, and he told them that he was afraid for his life. He was asked if he had watched the movie, and he replied that he had not. They also asked what he was doing related to the Brazilian abductee Michel Nissenbaum, and he said he left this to Brasilia," Politis stated.
Michel Nissenbaum, a 59-year-old resident of Sderot who has Brazilian citizenship, was initially declared missing. He had left his home in Sderot to pick up his 4-year-old granddaughter, who was spending Shabbat with her father, who serves as a permanent officer in the Gaza Division in Ra'im. They agreed to meet halfway, but 10 minutes later, the connection between them was cut off, and the son-in-law and the granddaughter were saved after the father fought with terrorists who infiltrated the base and protected his daughter, who was hidden under the desk in his office. Two weeks later, the family received a message that he had apparently been kidnapped to Gaza, based on the location of his tablet.
The two Congresswomen expressed their shock and explained to him that they came to Israel specifically to see what happened with their own eyes and show appreciation for Israel and that his job as ambassador is to do precisely that and transmit it to Brazil, so the government can take the appropriate decisions and to help Brazilians visiting or living in Israel and not to sit idly by.
"It was a very powerful and very important week for the members of the delegation and for Israel," Srour Politis shares. "Since the attack by Hamas on Israel, I have been in close contact with the members of the delegation who came to express their appreciation and support for the State of Israel. To see up close the harsh sights, to experience being at the very place where it all happened, and to smell the harsh smells that we have been exposed to is much different than to see it from pictures and stories. Now these representatives are doing a fabulous job in Brazil, changing the narrative by sharing their impressions from the visit to their readers and followers in Brazil and the world."
Aryeh King, the Chairman of the Meuhadim party and Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, stated: "I salute my party member, attorney Dvorah Srour Politis, for joining the public diplomacy in general, and in particular joining the efforts against a hostile politician from Brazil – despite the fact that her family members are enlisted and fighting on the front. We must win on all fronts: the battle in Gaza, the home front, and the world's general opinion. It's my honor to be a party member of Dvorah who brilliantly represents our values, which are based on Zionism, the love of Israel, and strengthening Judaism. I know how she can contribute to Jerusalem in the fields of public diplomacy and the Aliyah integration."