Brazilian Historian Cited for Research on the Inquisition
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Jewish historian Anita Novinsky, 94, was nominated for the “Woman Science Pioneers” award by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development for her longtime academic and field research about the Inquisition.
Recognized as Brazil’s most prominent specialist in Brazilian and Portuguese Marranos, or hidden Jews who practiced Judaism secretly at home and pretended to be fervently Catholic while out in public, Novinsky became one of 70 Brazilians to receive the honor so far.
Anita Novinsky was born in Poland but naturalized as a Brazilian citizen. Author of several books, she is founder and chairwoman of the University of São Paulo’s Laboratory of Studies on Intolerance.
Launched in 2013, the “Woman Science Pioneers” project aims at highlighting the stories of women who have contributed to the advancement of science, research and technology in Brazil and can inspire youths to pursue a scientific career.
The Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, or CNPq, is an organization of the Brazilian federal government under the Ministry of Science and Technology, dedicated to the promotion of scientific and technological research and to the formation of human resources for research in the country.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
