Sao Paulo State Parliament holds solidarity session for Palestinian Land Day

State Representative Monica Seixa, on 4 April 2025

The Sao Paulo State Legislative Assembly holds a special session to commemorate Palestinian Land Day, on 4 April 2025

Mohamad El-Kadri, President of the Latin Palestinian Forum, on 4 April 2025

Soraya Musleh, coordinator of the group Palestina Resiste, on 4 April 2025

Professor Arlene Clemesha, an expert in Arab History at the University of Sao Paulo, on 4 April 2025

The Sao Paulo State Legislative Assembly holds a special session to commemorate Palestinian Land Day, on 4 April 2025

The Sao Paulo State Legislative Assembly held a special session on Friday to commemorate Palestinian Land Day. The event was organised by the Latin Palestinian Forum in partnership with State Representative Monica Seixas, and gathered broad participation from Brazilian and Palestinian institutions, members of the Arab communities and supporters of the Palestinian cause.

The session opened with the Palestinian National Anthem, followed by a heartfelt address from Seixas, who expressed her pride at holding such an event in the Sao Paulo parliament. “The presence of Arab and Palestinian communities here today gives this session a very special human and historical significance,” she declared.

In a video message, Palestinian MP Mustafa Barghouti noted that, “What is happening in Gaza today is a genocide that violates all international laws.” He denounced the “US-Israel conspiracy to forcibly expel Palestinians” and emphasised the sacred right of resistance, stressing that Palestinians are facing “the largest conspiracy since the 1948 Nakba.”

Representative Seixas described Land Day as “a symbolic milestone in the Palestinian people’s struggle,” linking their cause to “the struggles of indigenous and racialised peoples, especially the Black population in Brazil.” She also criticised Brazil’s ongoing oil exports and arms purchases from Israel, calling it “an indirect contribution to the war machine.”

Brazilian journalist Breno Altman referred to the Palestinian cause as “a moral thermometer between nations,” stating that “standing with Palestine today is a human position before it is a political one.”

Mohamad El-Kadri, President of the Latin Palestinian Forum, stressed that the parliamentary event demonstrated solidarity with a people facing “daily genocide”. He said that celebrating Land Day “carries a message of support from the heart of the Brazilian parliament to the people of Palestine.” El-Kadri urged Brazil to “assume its ethical responsibility” and called for an end to military and economic relations with Israel. He also criticised security coordination in the West Bank as complicity with Israeli occupation policies.

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Popular and cultural action in supporting Palestinian resistance is important, insisted Soraya Musleh, coordinator of the group Palestina Resiste. “Land Day is not just a date to remember, but a renewed call for action, resistance and the continuation of the struggle for freedom,” she pointed out. “Our presence here reflects the fact that the Palestinian voice is alive, and our support for the cause is not limited to slogans, but is also expressed through concrete actions.”

International law obliges states not to be complicit in crimes of genocide, explained Professor Arlene Clemesha, an expert in Arab History at the University of Sao Paulo. “I urge Brazil to review its relationship with Israel and advance in boycott and divestment campaigns, as was done against the apartheid regime in South Africa.” She described what is happening in Palestine as, “One of the most serious conspiracies in contemporary history.”

In a video message, Samir Oliveira, Executive Director of the Lauro Campos – Marielle Franco Foundation, said that, “The Brazilian people, who have experienced colonialism and oppression, cannot stand by the Israeli occupation… So, the moral battle continues.”

The call for Brazil to cut its ties with Israel, especially in the oil and arms sectors, was echoed by the coordinator of Palestine solidarity efforts within the Workers’ Party (PT), Terezinha Pinto, who reaffirmed the party’s steadfast support for the Palestinian cause.

Representative Monica Seixas concluded the session with an emotional message, expressing her “great joy” for the presence of Arab and Palestinian communities in the parliament, and affirming that, “Solidarity with the Palestinian people is not only a human duty, but also part of our shared struggle for justice and freedom in the world.”

The session marking Palestinian Land Day was held as part of a series of activities organised by the Latin Palestinian Forum, aimed at mobilising parliamentary and popular support, raising awareness of the Palestinian cause in Latin America, and pressuring governments and institutions to adopt stronger positions against the Israeli occupation, while also engaging in international boycott campaigns and active solidarity with the Palestinian people.