THUR, JANUARY 19 2017-The Brazilian Government is pleased to announce it has granted agrément to Mr. Yossi Shelley as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Israel in Brazil.
Brazil-Israel relations are marked by cordiality and a positive bilateral agenda. The presence of a significant Jewish community in Brazil, estimated at over 100 thousand people – the tenth largest in the world – makes Brazil a particularly important country for Israel.
Brazil and Israel established diplomatic relations in 1949. In 1951, the Brazilian Legation was established in Tel Aviv – elevated in 1958 to the rank of Embassy. Israel established its Embassy in Brazil in 1955.
Brazilian diplomat Oswaldo Aranha’s decisive role at the session of the UN General Assembly which approved the partition of Palestine (1947), leading to the creation of the Israeli State, is still remembered by Israel. Since the 1940s, Brazil has supported the creation of two States and opposed the occupation of Palestinian territories by Israel, encouraging the parties to seek a negotiated solution that would enable the two States, Israel and Palestine, to live side by side, in peace and security.
In recent years, bilateral high-level visits have multiplied. In 2009, President Shimon Peres came to Brazil. In 2010, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited Israel, the first official visit of a Brazilian Head of State to that country. Vice-President Michel Temer visited Israel in 2013, on the occasion of President Shimon Peres’ 90th birthday.
