November 26, 2024 — São Paulo, Brazil
Since the Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023 – the deadliest day for the Jewish community since the Holocaust – American Jewish Committee (AJC) has mobilized its global architecture, including 25 offices across the United States and 15 international postings, to support Israel in its hour of need. This week, AJC CEO Ted Deutch, Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs (BILLA) Director Dina Siegel Vann, and BILLA Co-Chairs Margot Carter and Mario Fleck led a delegation to Brazil in support of this mission.
“Latin America knows the devastating reach of Iranian regime-backed terrorism and antisemitic violence all too well. Thirty years after Hezbollah and the Iranian regime perpetrated the AMIA bombing—the deadliest antisemitic attack since the Holocaust until October 7, 2023—Brazilian authorities arrested Hezbollah-linked suspects plotting attacks on Jewish targets in November of last year,” Deutch said. “AJC is mobilizing partners in Brazil, the region, and globally to demand a decisive, united response to Iran’s aggression—starting with Brazil designating Hezbollah and the IRGC as the terrorist groups that they are.”
While in Brazil, the delegation met with Brazilian Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco, Israeli Ambassador to Brazil Daniel Zonshine, U.S. Consul General in São Paulo Richard Glenn, Brazilian Member of Congress Tabata Amaral, and other government and civil society leaders. The group also attended the Confederação Israelita do Brasil (CONIB) convention, where AJC CEO Ted Deutch served as both a speaker and panel participant.
AJC’s BILLA Institute has worked for decades across the region to uplift the voices of allies – in government and civil society – to consistently push back against anti-Israel rhetoric in Brasilia and beyond. This work ensures that the historic and mutually beneficial ties between Brazil and Israel remain strong, with a clear understanding of the role that the Iranian regime and its proxies have played in the current violence in the Middle East.
“Home to Latin America’s second-largest Jewish community, Brazil is unfortunately no stranger to antisemitism, which has seen a sharp increase since October 7, 2023,” Siegel Vann said. “With partners in Brasília, São Paulo, and across the country, we are working to combat this surge. We welcome the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and others adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism and hope the national government will follow suit. We will continue partnering with CONIB on this and other key initiatives to ensure that Brazil’s Jewish community can live in safety and security while also thriving.”
Siegel Vann was invited to share BILLA’s unique work and accomplishments with the CONIB convention, including AJC’s role as a convener of Iberoamerican Jewish communities. Jewish professional leaders from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Spain, and Paraguay were part of the AJC delegation and consulted with one another on the state of affairs in their countries and plans for future joint actions. Deutch also held a discussion for members of AJC’s Latin America ACCESS Advisory Board with young Brazilian Jewish leaders about the critical role that young Jewish leaders around the world are playing in the fight for a strong Jewish future as well as the challenges and opportunities for engagement in the Latin America landscape.
AJC's Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs (BILLA) is a unique initiative that strengthens the Jewish community’s bonds of friendship with growing U.S. Latino communities and the countries of Latin America, Spain, and Portugal. BILLA partners with local Jewish communities and other sectors of civil society to promote relations among their countries, the U.S., and Israel. BILLA is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with additional staff in Miami and a representative in São Paulo.
AJC is the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people. With headquarters in New York, 25 regional offices across the United States, 15 overseas posts, as well as partnerships with 38 Jewish community organizations worldwide, AJC’s mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world. For more, please visit www.ajc.org.
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