At the U.N. Security Council, Colombia’s President Compared Israel to the Nazis

Colombian President Gustavo Petro delivered a speech today (Wednesday) before members of the U.N. Security Council, during which he referred to the war in Gaza while comparing Israel to the Nazi regime.

In his words, "20,000 people have been killed in Gaza. It is impossible to hide these numbers. We are returning to the era of the Nazis. No political or economic interest can hide the number of those killed in Gaza. This is the real red thread of what I am going to say here—that we are returning to the era of the Nazis."

Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, responded to the remarks: "It is unclear what he took before the discussion, but nothing justifies his words. Giving legitimacy to this rhetoric harms the memory of the Holocaust and undermines the credibility of the U.N."

As previously reported, Petro cut diplomatic relations with Israel two years ago, because of the continuing war in Gaza and what he called "the genocide that Israel is carrying out in Gaza." He later announced that his administration was joining South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, in which it alleges "genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza.

Yesterday, it was reported that Petro published a post on X containing the Nazi salute "Heil Hitler." The post, which was not deleted, received more than 20 million views and sparked a wave of furious reactions around the world, including in Israel, as well as condemnations from international Jewish organizations.

Petro’s post included a link to an opinion article published in the Colombian newspaper El Espectador. In the article, which criticized Petro and called for replacing the government in the country, it was written that "Colombia does not need more rhetoric; it needs order, authority, and economic freedom." The horrific Nazi expression that Petro wrote was intended to oppose the views of the article’s author and attach a Nazi label to him.

In another post he later published, Petro pushed back against the criticism directed at him: "There are Nazis in Colombia, and you embraced them." In addition, he pinned the Nazi post to the top of his profile on X, and claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "involved in an illegal conspiracy against Colombia."