The Jewish community in Brazil, with just over 100 thousand people, represents around 0.06% of the population. In demographic terms, it is not exactly an electoral treasure. Why, then, do we see so many politicians after her in this season of hunting for votes?
The race began even before International Holocaust Remembrance Day, celebrated this Tuesday (27). In recent days, the senator (PL-RJ) sent photos and messages from , including him praying at the Western Wall, the governor (Republicanos-SP) participated in the act in memory of the victims of the Holocaust at the CIP (Congregação Israelita Paulista), and sent the minister (Human Rights and Citizenship) for a Jewish tour in .
Tarcísio took advantage of the event on Sunday (25) to establish his position as an ally of the Jews. “We are here to say thank you very much, to say that we will not forget the Holocaust and we will not allow anti-Semitism in our state.”
Bolsonaro and his brother Eduardo (PL-SP) are in Israel, where they were received this Monday (26) by the prime minister, during the International Conference to Combat Anti-Semitism.
The senator said he committed to “fully resuming commercial relations with Israel from 2027” and promised to transfer Brazil’s embassy to Jerusalem.
Macaé Evaristo walked the streets of Bom Retiro, in the central region of São Paulo, this Monday. The first stop took place at Ten Yad, a charity maintained by the Jewish community for three decades. He had lunch in the cafeteria, where meals are served to vulnerable people, and visited the synagogue.
On the same afternoon, Lula’s minister went to Unibes (Brazilian-Israeli Union of Social Welfare) to learn about the assistance work carried out there and visited the Holocaust Memorial.
“The interest of politicians has to do with the stigma of the successful Jew, which is still a prejudice. The idea that Jews concentrate influence and capital, even when presented as a compliment, ends up reproducing a stereotype”, says historian Michel Gherman, author of “”.
For candidates, dialogue with Jewish leaders functions less as a search for votes and more as a gesture that signals ideological alignments and public commitments.
It is the right that reaps the most fruits from this relationship. President of Conib (Israeli Confederation of Brazil), Claudio Lottenberg accuses a “dangerous inflection in the Brazilian stance” after the massacre promoted by the no. Nazi regime.”
Two years ago, what happens to the Palestinian people “does not exist at any other historical moment”, and then adds: “In fact, it existed when Hitler decided to kill the Jews”.
The speech triggered a crisis between Brazil and Israel, which made Lula “persona non grata” in the country and the Brazilian ambassador left the country. So far, he has not been replaced.
Lottenberg “welcomes” the government’s nods to the Jewish community, which would have “institutional and symbolic density” to bring “a moral compass to public agendas.”
Rabbi of the secular humanist movement, Jayme Fucs Bar visited Lula in prison, at the headquarters of Curitiba. Resident of one, he was, throughout his life, a militant. He states that the PT member is not anti-Semitic, although “there are sectors of the party that should be purged.” According to him, Flávio and Eduardo should not be called to Israel, but the president should.
The rabbi condemns, however, the way Lula conducted foreign policy in relation to the war. “The speeches helped the extreme left a lot, which denies our right to have a State”, he says. “There has been a great silence regarding , while I no longer have the right to exist.”
A member of Paz Agora, historian and psychoanalyst Daniel Golovaty Cursino states that, although he considers himself progressive, he no longer identifies with the left. He states that he is against Lula joining a council that appears to exist to reaffirm US power and that has, among its guests, some dictators — “although this is not a problem for Lula”, according to Cursino. “I agree that the PT’s anti-Semitism is enormous and that Lula has an anti-Semitic worldview,” he says.
Asked about the Lula government’s accusations of anti-Semitism, Minister Macaé responded: “I am creating this agenda precisely because anti-Semitism, as well as racism, are important points for us to act on in deconstruction. President Lula has always positioned himself in defense of human life.”
Regarding the speech in which Lula compared the war in Gaza to the Holocaust, the minister stated that “words are often taken out of context” and the most important thing is to dispel any mistaken perception. “I’m here to say ‘we need to build bridges,’ ‘we don’t have any problems with the Jewish community.'”
Cátia Seabra, from Brasília, collaborated
