(1) As early as the 1500s, fully functioning Jewish communities had been established in Brazil. Jews first fled to Brazil when the Inquisition in Portugal began in 1497. Few of today’s Jewish population has descended from Portuguese Jews. Rather, most of them arrived in the 20th century from Syria and Eastern Europe.
(2) Four monthly Jewish magazines are published in Brazil: O Hebreu, Shalom, A Hebraica, and Chabad News. You can also see a local television program called Mosaico, which is devoted to Judaism, Israel, and Jewish community issues and has aired for over 20 years.
(3) UNIBES (Uniao Israelita Brasileira de Bem Estar Social) is an outstanding Jewish welfare organization in Sao Paulo. The organization works mainly in four sectors: family services (food and clothing distribution, occupational therapy); basic medical and dental care; elderly and senior (three recreational and cultural groups); and children (day care and audiological diagnosis and treatment).
(4) The Albert Einstein Jewish Hospital is one of the leading hospitals in all of South America.
(5) Brazil’s first Jewish governor, Jaime Lerner, was elected in 1994.
(6) Jewish families own Brazil’s two largest publishing and jewelry companies.
(7) In August 2004 the mayor of Sao Paulo declared the city a sister city with Tel Aviv. Mayor Marta Suplicy said the new status would strengthen the bonds between Brazilians and Israelis. Suplicy also added that the new status would be a kickoff for urban, cultural, scientific, tourist and economic programs.
(8) You can find more than 20 kosher restaurants and food marts in the city of Sao Paulo alone. Approximately 80,000 Jews live within Sao Paulo. Prominent Jewish communities also exist in Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Belem, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba and Recife.
(9) You can get a unique taste of Jewish Brazilian music by checking out Brazil Tropicasher: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/paulinhor Yes, Brazilian Jews definitely know how to do the samba!
(10) There is a saying in Brazil that, if a town doesn’t have a Jewish and a Lebanese merchant, it doesn’t deserve to be called a town.
Twitter: jewishbrazil
says:
BS”D
Just received your comment from my good friend Alex from NY!
Thank you so much for exposing our Tropicasher Music.
We just showed it at JO Soares TV Show – most famous interviews show in Brazil, if you are interested in watching it: http://video.globo.com/Videos/Player/Entretenimento/0,,GIM1274448-7822-PAULINHO+ROZENBAUM+FALA+DO+TROPICASHER,00.html
We have also Tropicasher in English, wich is http://www.jewishbrazil.com
1) There are other monthly Jewish magazines in Brazil, like Este Mês (This Month), from CIP (www.cip.org.br) for example. ‘O Hebrew”is not published yet, the last one was more than 10 years ago. Shalom is published every 2 weeks, and there is also Tribuna Judaica, also more important than the other. There are also Morashá, Devarim, etc. So you need to refresh your list.
2) In Sao Paulo there is the more important liberal congregation of Latin America, Congregaçao Israelita Paulista (CIP), with 1,500 families affiliated.
3) nowadays we have a jewish governor in Sao Paulo, Alberto Goldman.
tks, and shanah tovah