Brazil Synagogue Gets $400K Germany Boost
The preservation of an historic synagogue in Sao Paolo, Brazil has received a major boost with about $422,000 in seed money from the German Foreign Ministry.
The German Consul General in Sao Paulo signed an agreement earlier this month directing the funds to be used to begin the restoration and preservation of the Beth El Synagogue, set to be the heart of a new Jewish museum there, according to a ministry statement.
The museum, which will include a glass annex, will depict the history and culture of Judaism in general, as well as the history of Jews in Brazil, starting with the arrival of Portuguese settlers in the early 16th century.
A ministry spokesperson in Berlin told JTA they were glad to be able to support this project as part of Germany’s “commitment to preserve and support Jewish life.” The project is under the auspices of the ministry’s Cultural Preservation Program.
Some 20,000 German Jews fled Nazi Germany to Brazil. The Beth El synagogue was inaugurated in 1932.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30