Below is a photo from the Associated Press. The AP caption reads:

Demonstrators carrying Brazilian, Israeli and gay pride flags march in Rio de Janeiro to protest the visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is holding talks in Brasilia today.

This show of support makes a welcome change from the viciously anti-Israeli demonstrations which have become so commonplace all over the world, and which I have written about on several occasions in the past for NRO and other publications.

Gays in particular are often pro-Israel, in part at least because the Jewish state has a tolerant and liberal approach to homosexuals, in stark contrast to the Arab world.

Meanwhile, Brazilian President Lula da Silva has been criticized by Iranian pro-democracy activists and others for giving such a warm welcome to Ahmadinejad so soon after the rigged Iranian presidential elections.

The U.S. and other governments are also concerned that Brazil’s reception of Ahmadinejad could signal implicit approval of Iran’s resistance to international pressure to abandon its nuclear enrichment efforts. U.S. Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.), who chairs a House subcommittee on Latin America, told the BBC last week that Brazil’s invitation was “a serious mistake.”

Last week the Brazilian President warmly welcomed Palestinian strongman Mahmoud Abbas, who was also touring South America.