The offending tweet. Image by Twitter

By Ari Feldman July 9, 2019

Yossi Shelley eating (a lobster) lunch with Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. Image by Twitter

Israel’s ambassador to Brazil found himself in hot water earlier this week, not long after his lunch had found itself in a bit of hot water, too.

On Sunday, Yossi Shelley posted a picture of himself having lunch with Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right populist.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

But the source the lunch’s infamy wasn’t Bolsonaro’s policies, which may threaten indigenous Brazilians, LGBTQ Brazilians and the environment. It was the lobster on Shelley’s plate.

In a picture posted to Twitter, the lobster that is fairly obviously sitting on Shelley’s plate is hastily scribbled out in not-quite-totally-opaque black digital marker. As the Washington Post reported, observers picked up on the poorly concealed crustacean and pounced.

“Lobster ain’t kosher,” one user correctly noted.

The offending tweet. Image by Twitter

Noa Landau, a senior diplomatic correspondent for the Israeli news outlet Haaretz, wrote, “Israel’s ambassador to Brazil urgently needs: Photoshop experts at a higher level.”

Other Israeli politicians, from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Shimon Peres, have faced fury from Orthodox constituents and lawmakers for not adhering to the laws of kashrut.

Bolsonaro has forged particularly close ties to Netanyahu since his election last year. In January, Netanyahu became the the first Israeli PM to visit Brazil.

In April, Bolsonaro said that Nazism was a left wing movement after visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem.

Update, 12:30 p.m. — Landau reported on Twitter that Shelley denied that the food on his plate was lobster, saying instead that it was salmon.

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. Contact him at feldman@forward.com or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount