JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — A Jewish ritual object that initially was believed to be a Torah scroll was seized from criminals during a police raid of a Rio slum. Jewish representatives were called Monday to identify the object, which was determined to be a sefer Haftarah, or readings from the books of the prophets…
RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — Vandals set fire to a synagogue in southern Brazil after painting threats to the Jewish community on its walls. Flammable fuel was dumped under the main entrance door of the Israelite Society of Pelotas building on Thursday, and set alight causing minor damage. The criminals also wrote pro-Palestinian messages on…
RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — An Israeli-American talent manager re-married a Brazilian top model under a chuppah at Rio’s Christ the Redeemer statue surrounded by Hollywood celebrities. Jerusalem-born Guy Oseary and his Brazilian non-Jewish wife Michelle Alves renewed their vows in front of a crowd of celebrities including Madonna, members of U2, Elon Musk, Chris…
RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — The Rio Jewish federation apologized for a Facebook post which called on the Jewish community to root against a Chilean soccer team founded by Palestinians slated to play against Brazil’s most popular team. The federation’s official Facebook profile with nearly 30,000 followers on Wednesday displayed the flags of the Flamengo and…
RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — The mayor of Rio de Janeiro laid the cornerstone of a long-awaited Holocaust memorial in Brazil’s second-largest city. “The greatest homage we can render to the six million victims of the Nazis is to shout to the world: Holocaust, never again!” said Rio Mayor Marcelo Crivella during Friday’s ceremony, quoting…
RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — Vandals spray painted a swastika inside a Star of David on the entrance wall of a Jewish sports club located on a busy avenue in Rio. The Nazi symbol, drawn backwards, appeared inside the three-foot-tall Jewish symbol that identifies the Brazilian Israelite Club, a Jewish institution attended by Jews and non-Jews and whose doors…
RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — The mayor of Rio de Janeiro said in an interview that his city’s residents must be inspired by the memory of Israel’s late former president and prime minister, Shimon Peres. “The Cariocas must be inspired by Peres,” Mayor Marcello Crivella told O Globo newspaper, using the term to describe Rio’s native residents….
RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — The mayor of Rio de Janeiro spoke up for Israel before some 2,000 people during a celebration of Israel’s Independence Day which made news on Brazil’s main weekly primetime TV show. Marcelo Crivella, whose four-year term started in January, has been a longtime friend of the Jewish community and an enthusiast of…
