Brazilian right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro said after visiting the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel on Tuesday that Nazism was born from a leftist movement.
“There is no doubt,” Bolsonaro said when asked by reporters about a similar statement from Brazil’s foreign minister, Ernesto Araujo, according to Reuters. “Right?”
{mosads}Reuters notes that Bolsonaro’s comments contradict information on the Holocaust museum and memorial’s website, which says that Nazism stemmed from right-wing radical groups reacting to the rise of communism.
Bolsonaro reportedly added that the Nazi party’s formal name included the term “socialist.” Nazis followed a fascist ideology despite the word “socialist” appearing in the party’s official name, which was the National Socialist German Workers’ Party.
Bolsonaro’s visit to the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem came as part of a four-day trip to Israel this week. The visit initially was viewed as an attempt to boost Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reelection prospects.
But Reuters said the trip fell short of Netanyahu’s hopes in that it did not include an announcement from Bolsonaro about moving the Brazilian Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Bolsonaro suggested after his inauguration in January that Brazil would move the embassy. But his government later backtracked on the suggestion.
Brazil announced Sunday that it opened a diplomatic office in Israel.
“Brazil decided to create an office in Jerusalem to promote trade, investment, technology and innovation as a part of its embassy in Israel,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, according to Reuters.