Development: On 3 November, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned Brazil’s President-elect Jair Bolsonaro’s decision to move the country’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Significance: Bolsonaro had indicated that he would follow US President Donald Trump’s lead and move Brazil’s embassy to Jerusalem during his presidential campaign. He confirmed his decision on 1 November on Twitter, and then in an interview with Israeli daily Israel Hayom – the first interview he gave to the international press following his election. This controversial decision follows in the footsteps of the US, Guatemala, and Paraguay, although the latter backtracked and moved its embassy back to Tel Aviv in September.
- The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was quick to welcome Bolsonaro’s announcement, calling it “a historic, correct and exciting step”. Meanwhile Palestinian authorities severely criticised the planned move. Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian official, said that the provocative decision breached international law and served only to destabilise the region.
- Qatar, one of the OIC’s 57 member states, called on Bolsonaro to reverse his decision in an official statement by its ministry of foreign affairs on 3 November. Both Qatar and the OIC evoked the United Nations General Assembly’s (UNGA) 2017 resolution to maintain Jerusalem’s status unchanged and asking member states to refrain from locating diplomatic missions there.
- Brazilian officials have expressed concern that Bolsonaro’s decision will affect Brazil’s economy and tarnish its international image. Rubens Hannun, president of the Arab-Brazilian chamber of commerce, notes that Arab countries are an important destination for sales of chicken and beef, and that Brazilian exports to these countries totalled US$5.1bn in the first half of 2018. Hannun fears that the embassy move to Jerusalem will prove detrimental to Brazil-Arab relations, and that Arab countries will turn to other trade partners.
- Despite Bolsonaro’s assertion that his foreign policy will be shaped by pragmatism, former diplomats Rubens Ricupero and Rubens Barbosa (both former Brazilian ambassadors to the US) see clear ideological bias in the president-elect’s first foreign policy declarations and fear their economic consequences. Last week, Bolsonaro questioned the need for a Brazilian embassy in Cuba, a position which Ricupero qualified as harking back to the Cold War.
Looking Ahead: Despite having made several announcements on his future foreign policy, Bolsonaro has yet to designate a minister of foreign affairs. All eyes will be on the future government minister to see how closely he or she will align with the controversial decisions already announced by Bolsonaro.
