No forgiveness for "great friend of Israel"

[yankeedoodle]

That Brazilian Bozo, Bolsonaro, fancies himself to be a "great friend of Israel," but, when he dared use the "forgiven" word, guess what happened.  That's right, this:      

Brazil's Bolsonaro angers ally Israel by saying Holocaust can be 'forgiven'
https://www.rt.com/news/456446-bolsonaro-holocaust-forgiven-outrage/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome

Brazilian right-wing leader Jair Bolsonaro risks falling out with one of his closest allies over his off-hand "we can forgive, but we cannot forget" remark about the Holocaust after it sparked a fierce backlash in Israel.
The Israeli President, as well as the official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, have pounced on Bolsonaro, taking offence with the Brazilian's leader way of speaking about the Holocaust. 

Addressing evangelical leaders on Thursday night in Rio de Janeiro, Bolsonaro made a reference to the Holocaust as an example of a tragedy that must not be forgotten so it would never be repeated.

"We can forgive, but we cannot forget. That quote is mine. Those that forget their past are sentenced not to have a future," he said.

The remark struck a raw nerve in Israel, with critics zooming in on the first part of the quote.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin accused Bolsonaro of an attempt to "erase" the extermination of Jews in Nazi camps from the public memory.

"No one will order the forgiveness of the Jewish people, and it can never be bought in the name of interests," Rivlin tweeted.

"We will never cooperate with those who deny the truth or try to erase it from memory — not by individuals and groups, not by party leaders and not by heads of state," he said.

Yad Vashem, the Israeli memorial for the victims of the Holocaust, warned Bolsonaro against sailing out of his depth and called on him to stick to present-day politics instead of wading into historical matters.

"Diplomats have the responsibility to shape the future, and historians have the responsibility to describe the past and research history. It is forbidden for one to cross the boundaries of the other," spokeswoman Dana Weiler-Polak said, while noting that it's not up to one to decide if "the crimes of the Holocaust" warrant forgiveness.

Bolsonaro, who has styled himself as a great friend of Israel, recently opened his country's business office in Jerusalem as "part of its embassy in Israel." While the inauguration of the new diplomatic quarters fell short of Bolsonaro's earlier vow to move the country's embassy to Jerusalem, it was praised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he hoped it was "a first step" towards the opening of the Brazilian embassy there.

During his four-day trip to Israel, Bolsonaro, dubbed "Tropical Trump" for the uncanny similarities of his views to those of his American counterpart, visited the Yad Vashem memorial.

Bolsonaro is no stranger to courting controversy, having praised Latin American dictators and telling a female political opponent she was "not worthy" of rape. Just days after he returned from Israel, Bolsonaro faced outrage for claiming that Germany's National Socialist Party (the actual Nazis) was a leftist group, because its name included "socialist."

Netanyahu so far has not commented on the new controversy involving his Brazilian bedfellow. Meanwhile, the Israeli ambassador to Brazil sprung to Bolsonaro's defense, arguing that the Brazilian leader was misunderstood.

"At no point in his speech did the president show disrespect or indifference to Jewish suffering," he said in a Facebook post.

Bolsonaro's comment sent ripples through the Jewish community on Twitter. Some argued that it was up to the victims of the Holocaust to decide whether to forgive the perpetrators.

"Its perpetrators were rightfully punished and should never be forgiven. Just like the torturers you defend deserve no forgiveness," a commentator wrote, alluding to Bolsonaro's controversial remarks praising military dictators and their methods.

[yankeedoodle]

Brazil's Bolsonaro claims Holocaust remarks had 'no historical context' after Israeli backlash
https://www.rt.com/news/456471-bolsonaro-responds-holocaust-comments/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro tried to explain the message behind his eyebrow-raising 'Holocaust can be forgiven' phrase was gravely distorted, and the following uproar is used to cause bad blood with his "Jewish friends."
"My speech was never meant to be used in a historical context," and its other interpretations only serve those "who want to push me away from my Jewish friends," Bolsonaro wrote in a statement, shared by Israel's envoy to Brazil, Yossi Shelley, on social media.

Shelley said that he had earlier asked Bolsonaro to explain the comments on the Holocaust he made at an Evangelical event this week. The Brazilian leader's phrase "We can forgive, but we cannot forget" the killing of millions of Jews during WWII quickly drew criticism from Israel's President Reuven Rivlin and Yad Vashem, the nation's leading Holocaust memorial center. Bolsonaro's comments were also slammed online.

A right-wing politician, Bolsonaro closely aligns himself with Israel and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. Two weeks ago, he undertook a four-day trip to the country, during which he visited Yad Vashem.