Terror Attacks Tourism in Brazil

Dear readers, please find below the amazing article written by my dear friend Mr. William Douglas, published on Brazilian newsoutlets, and translated below. It is about the recent absurdity pepetrated by one judge and a lawyer against an Israeli tourist on vacations in Brazil, and I strongly recommend you reading it.

“A terrorist support organisation that kills, rapes, and kidnaps the elderly, women, children, and even babies, acting with political intent, has harmed the lives of thousands of Brazilians.

Unfortunately, the Brazilian Judiciary did not halt this grave damage more swiftly.

The conveyed abuse of rights will harm the economy of several cities in Bahia. As a professor of constitutional law, I address this incident and propose a solution.

ABSURD REQUEST

A request that speaks of ‘flight risk’ for a person who is not being prosecuted anywhere in the world is so insane that it should be rejected immediately.

A tourist was treated by the Judiciary as a suspect of having committed a very serious crime, without any formal accusation against him in his country or abroad. This is a shame for all who value the Democratic Rule of Law, as well pointed out in the article ‘Guilty for being Israeli’ (Estadão, 2025).

This type of persecution only interests sick minds like those who promote or defend terrorism, kidnapping, and rape.

The source of the outlandish and opportunistic request was the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), an obscure NGO based in Belgium, without any credibility and whose leader, Dyab Abou Jahjah, was a member of the Shiite militia Hezbollah.

On social media, Dyab classified as “resistance fighters” the Hamas terrorists who killed more than a thousand Israelis on October 7, 2023, and who, since then, still hold women, children, and the elderly as hostages.

In good time, the Federal Police was more sensible and technical than the Judiciary and did not initiate the inquiry, understanding that there are not sufficient elements for the formal opening of a criminal investigation against the tourist, who, in practice, was persecuted solely for being Israeli.

Regrettably, many people, even politicians, celebrated that a person who chose Brazil for travel was surprised with a threat of arrest made by an incompetent authority in a country where they imagined there was legal security. Brazil has always been hospitable to all, and this image was tarnished.

The issue was masterfully explained by criminal lawyer Fábio Tofic, who, in an article, said: ‘The topic is complex and deserves sober, rational, and dispassionate analysis, since it is certain that no one wants crimes of this nature to go unpunished, but neither that human freedom be at the mercy of the legal insecurity of foreign nations.’ (Conjur, 2025)

In short, it is wrong to give any course to evidently abusive requests made in evident bad faith. Admitting teratological requests is not a measure without serious consequences.

DAMAGE TO BRAZILIANS AND BRAZIL’S RELIABILITY

Annually, approximately 38,000 Israelis visit our country, generating around $ 39 million usd for Brazilian economy.

Israelis have been coming to Bahia for holidays for years. They love Itacaré, Morro de São Paulo, etc. There are menus in Hebrew, hotels have staff who speak Hebrew, all due to the number of Israeli tourists. This tourism generates important foreign exchange.

In short, besides destroying Gaza’s economy, using enormous amounts of donations to build tunnels and buy weapons, Hamas and its allies have now managed to bring their trail of destruction to Bahia.

I regret that the Judiciary has committed an error of such magnitude. In this step, it joined the Brazilian government, which repeatedly supports Iran, whose theocratic dictatorship is the mother of all terrorism practiced by Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthis. The omission in condemning Iranian sponsorship serves as a shameful support for the kidnapping that has lasted more than 450 days.

COMPLETE INCOMPETENCE OF BRAZILIAN JUSTICE

On this topic, it’s worth remembering that the International Criminal Court (ICC), created by the Rome Statute, has jurisdiction only if the State involved is a signatory, which is not the case for Israel. Aggravating the situation, direct application by national legal systems is not foreseen.

Moreover, Brazil does not have jurisdiction to judge foreigners for crimes committed outside its territory, except for legal exceptions (Article 7 of the Brazilian Penal Code), which do not apply to this case. The Brazilian Superior Court of Justice, by the way, has already established that “It is necessary to enact a law in the formal sense for the typification of the crime against humanity brought by the Rome Statute, even if dealing with an internalised Treaty”. This judgment, delivered in Special Appeal No. 1798903/RJ, was highlighted in the Court’s informative No. 659, whose ruling concludes by categorically and correctly stating that “it is not possible to internalise the typification of the crime against humanity brought by the Rome Statute, even if dealing with a Treaty internalised through Decree No. 4.388/2002, as there is no law in the formal sense typifying such conduct”.

The Judiciary should, from the initial request, have indicated the active illegitimacy of the proponents since requests such as precautionary arrest and search and seizure cannot be made by private individuals, but only by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (Article 129, I, of the Brazilian Federal Constitution).

The ICC and the Brazilian Judiciary are incompetent to judge the narrated facts. The authors acted with political bias and incurred in reprehensible abuse of rights and bad faith litigation. The attempt to directly apply the Rome Statute was inadequate and, in our view, a gross error.

WHAT TO DO?

Whether out of respect for the Rule of Law, or legality, or to avoid harming Estate of Bahia’s families who live from tourism, it is up to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to correct the error which, although it was from the Judiciary, negatively impacted the country’s image. It is up to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to clarify that Brazilian Justice is incompetent for such cases and that Israeli tourists do not need to avoid Brazil in their next trips. Another solution would be for the Supreme Federal Court, if provoked, to end the debate by declaring the obvious. This will prevent the problem from recurring and will help restore people’s confidence that Brazil is not a lawless land, where obscure NGOs can disrupt the lives of Brazilians and their guests.”

*By William Douglas, Professor of Constitutional Law, International Writer and Federal Appellate Judge.*

References:

Estadão (2025) ‘Culpado por ser israelense’, Estadão, online. Available at: https://www.estadao.com.br/opiniao/culpado-por-ser-israelense/ (Accessed: January 9th, 2025).

Conjur (2025) ‘A justiça brasileira e o soldado israelense’, Conjur. Available at: https://www.conjur.com.br/2025-jan-09/a-justica-brasileira-e-o-soldado-israelense/(Accessed: January 9th, 2025).

O Dia (2025) ‘William Douglas: O terror ataca o turismo no Brasil’, O Dia, [online]. Available at: https://odia.ig.com.br/opiniao/2025/01/6983141-william-douglas-o-terror-ataca-o-turismo-no-brasil.html (Accessed: January 9th, 2025).