Short answer: Paulo Coelho does not support Israel in any straightforward sense. His most recent on-record comment on the subject dates to July 2024, and no newer public statement turned up as of July 2026. He is Catholic by upbringing, not Jewish, and he served on the board of the Shimon Peres Institute for Peace as far back as 2008, where he called for a negotiated peace with concessions from both sides. But since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023, his public statements have run consistently critical of Israeli government conduct.
What Paulo Coelho has actually said and done
- March 25, 2008: In an interview with Jewcy, Coelho discusses his seat on the board of the Shimon Peres Institute for Peace and argues that peace requires compromise from both sides, saying "you cannot shake hands with a clenched fist." He does not take a side on Israeli or Palestinian policy specifically.
- November 9, 2023: After Israel's ambassador to Brazil meets with former president Jair Bolsonaro and opposition figures, Coelho posts on social media calling the meeting "an absurdity" that demands a diplomatic response. He also suggests, according to Bahia Notícias and Revista Fórum, that the Netanyahu government is delaying the evacuation of Brazilian nationals held in Gaza in order to hand Bolsonaro a political win over President Lula.
- February 20, 2024: After Lula compares the Gaza war to the Holocaust and is criticized by Brazilian congresswoman Tabata Amaral, Coelho publicly rebuts Amaral, sharing a video of a Jewish man, the son of Holocaust survivors, saying he will not stay silent about Israeli actions against Palestinians. The exchange is reported by both Notícias ao Minuto Brasil and Revista Fórum.
- July 22, 2024: After Adidas pulls a Bella Hadid ad campaign amid criticism tied to Israel over her Palestinian roots, Coelho posts on X associating Adidas with Nazism and signaling support for a boycott of the brand, per reporting from Diário PB and Brasil 247.
No record of a boycott refusal, a donation to Israeli causes, or a supportive statement on the conflict was found for this period.
Is Paulo Coelho Jewish, and what is his actual Israel connection
Coelho is a Brazilian novelist best known for "The Alchemist" and "The Fifth Mountain," a retelling of the biblical Prophet Elijah story set partly in ancient Israel and largely in Phoenicia. He has lived in Geneva, Switzerland since 2007. He was raised in a strict Catholic family, educated at a Jesuit school, briefly explored occultism and hippie counterculture as a young man, and later returned to Catholicism, which he has described as being "in his blood." He has no Jewish heritage or identity on the public record.
His UN Messenger of Peace role and his historical board seat on the Shimon Peres Institute for Peace predate the current war by well over a decade and reflect a general peace-advocacy posture rather than pro-Israel activism specifically. Since October 2023, his public commentary, all in Portuguese on social media and picked up by mainstream Brazilian outlets including Revista Fórum, Bahia Notícias, Brasil 247, Notícias ao Minuto, and Diário PB, has consistently sided with Lula's criticism of Israel's Gaza campaign. No English-language coverage from AP, Reuters, BBC, the New York Times, or Jewish outlets like JTA, the Times of Israel, or the Jerusalem Post independently confirmed these Portuguese-language statements, which is a real limitation on sourcing depth. But the Brazilian outlets involved are mainstream national press, not fringe blogs, and each incident is corroborated by two independent outlets.
The bottom line
The record shows Paulo Coelho has taken a clear position since the war began in October 2023: politically critical of the Israeli government's conduct in Gaza, aligned with Lula's Holocaust comparison, and supportive of a consumer boycott tied to a brand's perceived deference to Israeli pressure. He has no Jewish identity, and his historical Israel connection is a now-dated 2008 peace-institute board seat, not current support for Israel. His literary tie to the Holy Land through "The Fifth Mountain" remains a novelist's engagement with biblical history, not a political stance.
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Last updated July 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.
