Genoino’s speech constitutes a crime of prejudice, says jurist

The statement by former PT president José Genoino, this weekend, suggesting a boycott of companies run by Jews or linked to the state of Israel, had a negative impact on the political and legal environment.

In an exclusive interview with People’s GazetteGiuliano Miotto, lawyer and president of the Instituto Liberdade e Justiça (ILJ), said that the PT member’s statement is “extremely abject and criminal” as he defends “the cutting of commercial relations” between Brazil and the State of Israel.

“Just remember that such speech can be characterized as a crime of prejudice and incitement to hatred, provided for in Brazilian criminal legislation,” said Miotto.

The lawyer also emphasizes that “Genoino does not see any problem with Brazil having commercial relations with countries governed by dictatorships that systematically disrespect the human rights of their own population”. However, he mentions that the PT member sees it as “a good solution not to have relations with a country where the only democracy in the region is in force and which is simply exercising its right to survival”.

Genoino’s comment against Jews and Israelis was made on Saturday (20) during a broadcast on the Diário do Centro do Mundo channel, after the program’s presenters read a message from one of the viewers criticizing the owner of Magazine Luiza for heading a petition against the Lula government’s support for the investigation against Israel for genocide.

When commenting on the fact, Genoino suggested the boycott of certain Jewish companies. “This idea of ​​rejection, this idea of ​​boycotting for political reasons, which hurts economic interests, is an interesting way. There was even this boycott of certain Jewish companies”, stated the PT member.

When reacting to Genoino’s speech, the Brazilian Israeli Confederation (Conib) recalled that “the boycott of Jews was one of the first measures adopted by the Nazi regime against the German Jewish community, which culminated in the Holocaust”. Jewish entities also repudiated the anti-Semitic speech, and this Monday (22) deputy Carla Zambelli (PL-SP) filed a complaint against the PT member for “racism” against Jews.