Special advisor to the Presidency of the Republic, Clara Ant abandoned this Saturday (8) during a speech by the governor of Goiás, Ronaldo Caiado (União Brasil), with attacks on President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Both were among the guests at a gala event for the 56th Convention of the country’s main Jewish entity, at a club in São Paulo.
Sitting at a table, she discreetly stood up when she began to criticize the government and the president during her speech at the event.
“The current government, of the PT, of Lula, is a government that preaches radicalism, preaches class hatred, preaches against each other, rich against poor. This is inadmissible, this is unacceptable”, said the man from Goiás. When dealing with security, one of his flags, he said that the current government is “complacent, conniving with drug trafficking”.
Upon hearing the words, Ant, who is one of the most important Jews in the PT, left her place and went out through a side exit.
As he walked out into the street, he told the Panel that he regretted the episode. “Caiaado was inappropriate and disrespectful even towards Conib, which held an event about democracy, plurality and coexistence. That’s what was happening here until now”, he declared.
She stressed that she had no complaints about the Jewish entity. “It’s nothing against Claudio [Lottenberg, presidente da Conib]but Caiado was quite inelegant”.
“I’m leaving. I’m sorry, because I would like to stay, it’s a party, everything was going well. I’m not here to judge what others say or think, but I think [Caiado] it was disrespectful. And he knew there was a person here from the government”, he stated.
Despite the conflict, Ant’s presence at the event signaled an attempt by Lula to relax relations with the Jewish community, which was shaken by the president’s criticism of the war against Gaza,
She was the only representative of the PT government in the place, which had a majority of opponents, such as governors Tarcísio de Freitas (SP), Claudio Castro (RJ), Eduardo Leite (RS), in addition to Caiado himself. The organization says it also called other left-wing politicians, but they did not attend.
Before dinner, Ant met with representatives from Conib and Jewish federations and handed them a 24-page notebook produced by the Presidency with the title “Highlights of the relationship between Lula, Israel and the Jewish Community”.
In the material, the advisor lists a series of gestures made by the president to Jews in his first two terms, including trips to Israel. The cover photo is of Lula’s visit to the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem.
The notebook also lists notes from Itamaraty condemning acts of anti-Semitism and attacks against Israel, including the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023.
There are also photos of Lula with leaders such as former Prime Minister Shimon Peres and statements by him in defense of a two-state solution to the conflict with the Palestinians.
“For the president, only dialogue and a two-state solution can offer a lasting solution to the conflict, reaffirming Brazil’s historic commitment to peace and multilateralism”, says the material delivered by the advisor.
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