נשיא ישראל כנשיא עם ישראל: ביקור הנשיא זלמן שזר בברזיל ביולי 1966 ויחסי ישראל, ברזיל והתפוצה היהודית

In summer 1966, Israeli President Zalman Shazar and his wife, Rachel made an official tour to four South American countries and to the United States. This article examines their state visit to Brazil in the context of the triangular relationship between Israel, Brazil and the Jewish diaspora. The visit did not yield significant political achievements for Israel. Nonetheless, given Brazil’s equidistant position on the Arab-Israeli conflict, the fact that Shazar’s visit was not followed by a parallel visit to Brazil by a senior Arab leader can be viewed, to some degree, as an Israeli accomplishment.From an Israeli perspective, Shazar’s South American tour was primarily intended to co-opt the local Jewish diaspora, emotionally connect them to Israel and enhance their support for the Jewish State. These goals were met in Brazil, where wide sectors of the local Jewry enthusiastically welcomed Shazar while publicly displaying their support for Israel. Brazilian Zionist activists equally sought to use the visit for their own purposes. During Shazar’s visit, such Jewish Brazilian spokespersons endeavored to show that they were loyal and integrated Brazilian citizens. At the same time, they utilized the visit’s prestige to present their loyalty to Israel as positive and legitimate and to portray themselves as an important link that contributed to the development of good relations between the two countries.