Brazilian passports of citizens who were born in Jerusalem will no longer name Israel as the country of birth.
The foreign ministry in Brasilia’s decision to omit Israel from such documents was taken last year, the Brazilian Embassy in Tel Aviv told the Folha de Sao Paulo daily, which published an article on the subject on Aug. 6 — the first Brazilian media report of the change in policy. Brazilian-Israelis had alerted the newspaper to the change.
An estimated 60 passport holders are affected out of approximately 15,000 Brazilian-Israelis, according to the daily.
The United States, Canada and France also omit Israel from passports for holders born in Jerusalem, stating only the city’s name.
Israel declares Jerusalem as its capital but is frequently criticized internationally for its control of the city, which is not internationally recognized as Israeli territory. — jta