Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was warmly greeted by Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, becoming the first Israeli prime minister to visit the South American country.
Both leaders pledged to deepen ties, although there was no announcement, as some had anticipated, of Brazil moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Netanyahu flew to Rio de Janeiro to meet with Bolsonaro, an ideological ally who takes office on Jan. 1 following his election victory in October. The two men had lunch on Copacabana beach before delivering statements.
"Israel is the promised land. Brazil is the land of promise," Netanyahu said, adding that Israel could contribute to Brazil's economy, security, agriculture and water resources.
One of the main problems afflicting Brazil is its high homicide rate, and the new government hopes Israel's security capabilities and expertise can help it cope with the challenge.
Israel is also interested in strengthening cooperation with Brazil.
"In certain areas, Israel has unimaginable capabilities that cannot be revealed – be it in border protection or the use of big data," said an official in Netanyahu's delegation.
Bolsonaro pledged he would visit Israel by March as a way of thanking Netanyahu for the gesture.
"We will be launching a challenging government in January, but Brazil has potential," Bolsonaro said.
"If we are to overcome obstacles, we need good allies, good friends, good brothers, like Benjamin Netanyahu.
"More than partners, we will be brothers in the future, in economy, technology, all that can bring benefit to our two countries."
The two leaders also visited the Kehilat Yaakov synagogue amid tight security, which included snipers positioned on nearby rooftops. At the synagogue, Netanyahu stressed his hope that the two countries would work in a more aligned and friendly manner in the future.
"President Bolsonaro said that this is not just a friendship or an alliance of interests [between Brazil and Israel] but also an alliance of brothers," Netanyahu told the audience of some 500 congregants.
"With cooperation and brotherhood it is possible to achieve things that cannot be imagined. We agreed between us on the way to take this cooperation to new heights."
Bolsonaro and many of his top aides have repeatedly indicated that Brazil would soon relocate its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. But since his election victory, Bolsonaro has come under pressure to abandon the embassy relocation idea from powerful backers in the agricultural sector, who fear the move could harm their halal meat sales in Arab countries.
The Arab League has warned Bolsonaro that moving the embassy to Jerusalem would be a setback for relations with Arab countries.
Such a move by Bolsonaro would be a sharp shift in Brazilian foreign policy, just as it was for the United States when President Donald Trump relocated the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem in May. Brazil has traditionally backed a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the relocation of the embassy to Jerusalem, parts of which the Palestinians envision as the capital of a future state, would be seen as an affront.
However, some political analysts speculated that Netanyahu's visit to Brazil would be the perfect time for Bolsonaro to make the announcement.
Bolsonaro discussed Israel during a meeting in Rio with Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, late last month.
Although Bolsonaro could well make the announcement at a later stage, a senior U.S. State Department official said on Friday the U.S. government expects him eventually to make the move.
"We also welcome President-elect Bolsonaro's comments regarding moving the Brazilian Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in support of Israel's sovereign right to have its capital of Jerusalem recognized by nations around the world. We look forward to welcoming many more of our friends and allies in Jerusalem," the official said.
On Sunday, Netanyahu was expected to meet with Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez to discuss moving his country's embassy to Jerusalem.
Hernandez was also in the Brazilian capital to attend Bolsonaro's inauguration ceremony, set for Tuesday.
