International conference defends Iran and chants anti-Semitic slogan in SP

This weekend, the city of São Paulo hosted the Masar Badil Conference, an international event linked to the radical left and organizations banned for terrorism and anti-Semitism in several countries. The Masar Badil movement presents itself as an “alternative path” for the defense of Palestine and held events between Saturday and Monday, ending activities on Tuesday.

Over these four days, public activities openly defended Iran’s “resistance” against the US and, indirectly, the destruction of the State of Israel. Although it calls itself independent, the movement brought as guests representatives of Samidoun and the National Front for the Liberation of Palestine (FNLP), groups banned in several countries for anti-Semitism and links to terrorism.

Masar Badil is a popular movement “in defense of the Palestinian people” that describes itself as “mass”, linked to the so-called “Palestinian diaspora” resulting from Israel’s occupation of territories formerly populated by Palestinians.

Founded in 2021, with simultaneous conferences in Madrid, Beirut and São Paulo, it positions itself as a “revolutionary” option for official diplomacy. This is because the group rejects the Oslo treaties and the two-state solution — a model that provides for the mutual recognition of Israel and Palestine as states.

“The recent escalation of the United States and the Israeli occupation against Iran confirms that West Asia remains at the center of an imperial offensive that threatens the entire region. This war policy is added to the continuous attacks against Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, revealing a systematic strategy of domination and destabilization against the peoples who resist”, says the official convocation website.

The movement defends the “total liberation” of Palestine “from the river to the sea”. In practice, the term is considered an anti-Semitic slogan because it preaches the destruction of the State of Israel, according to organizations such as the American Jewish Committee (AJC).

Regardless of interpretations, the phrase has been, since 2012, the official motto of the terrorist group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and was responsible for the October 2023 attacks against Israel — the biggest massacre against Jews since the Second World War.

Open support for Iran

The link with radical groups did not inhibit the support of parties on the radical Brazilian left, such as the Partido da Causa Operária (PCO). The group attended the event, organized as a demonstration against the Palestinian “genocide”, represented by leader João Pimenta — son and political heir of the party president, Rui Costa Pimenta.

In his speech, he demanded greater support from the Lula government for the Iranian regime and what he called the “Axis of Resistance” to North American imperialism, a coalition of “martyrs” that includes Iran, Lebanon and Palestine. The death of Ali Khamenei, killed in an air strike on Tehran, is what he calls “martyrdom”.

“In the last month, they have shown that it is possible to stop Israel’s war machine. These comrades, both from Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, have shown that we do not have to be afraid of imperialism,” said Pimenta, according to the transcript published by the newspaper Diary of the Workers’ Causethe party’s communications body.

Interest in the “Global South”

The event on Avenida Paulista took advantage of the coincidence with “Earth Day”, celebrated on March 30, which symbolizes resistance to colonialism. The choice of Brazil as the headquarters is seen as strategic by the organizers, who cite the supposed “Zionist influence” in the economy and the prevalence of evangelicals in the country, but also the strength of left-wing popular parties and movements.

Samidoun was banned by the German government in 2023 on charges of disseminating anti-Semitic propaganda and supporting Hamas. According to German authorities, members of the group openly celebrated the October 2023 terrorist attacks against Israel. Furthermore, network coordinators in Europe have already faced arrests and deportation orders because they are considered threats to national security in countries such as Greece and Belgium.

According to the US, Samidoun “serves as a front for the group in countries where the FNLP is declared a terrorist organization. Although the organization supposedly supports Palestinian prisoners and their families, in practice Samidoun offers financial support to the sanctioned FNLP”, justifies the American government’s statement.

“From the river to the sea”

The expression “From the river to the sea” refers to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, having been used for the first time in 1964 by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Geographically, it is “perfectly clear” that the slogan “From the river to the sea” speaks of a stretch of land between Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

So, a Palestine “from the river to the sea” could only imply wiping Israel off the map, as columnist Thomas Latschan wrote in the German agency German wave in 2023, the year in which Germany banned its use because it is an expression of hate speech and anti-Semitism.