Netanyahu invites Brazil presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro to Israel

JERUSALEM Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has invited Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro to visit Israel, seeking to renew ties between the two countries as Brazil heads towards a presidential runoff on October 25. Netanyahu spoke with Bolsonaro and congratulated him on his performance in the first round of the presidential election, his office said on Friday. Bolsonaro’s brother Eduardo also participated in the conversation. “The prime minister invited Bolsonaro to visit Israel, and Bolsonaro, for his part, invited the prime minister to visit Brazil,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. The two leaders intend to renew the “deep friendship” between their countries, the statement added, describing the outreach as part of a broader shift in Israel’s relations with South American nations. Flavio Bolsonaro, 45, is the eldest son of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right leader who is under house arrest over allegations of plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election. The younger Bolsonaro, a senator, is challenging incumbent leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the October 25 runoff. A Datafolha poll published on Thursday put Bolsonaro at 52 per cent and Lula at 48 per cent. A Bolsonaro victory could move Brazil towards a more pro-Israel foreign policy, given the candidate’s right-wing political positions. Brazil is Latin America’s most populous country and an influential regional power. Several right-wing leaders supportive of Israel have won elections in Latin America in recent years, including in Argentina and Colombia. Netanyahu is also approaching an election in Israel, scheduled for October 27, just two days after Brazil’s runoff. The invitation comes amid efforts by Israel to strengthen diplomatic relations across South America.