A list naming more than 1,300 Jewish artists, journalists, teachers, editors and politicians circulated among members of Brazil’s Jewish community with the title “List of the first train to Auschwitz.” Groups supporting Flávio Bolsonaro used it to call for a boycott of Jews who backed President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, according to the report. Auschwitz was the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp complex during the Second World War.
Marcelo Semiatzh, a coordinator of Jews for Democracy, said the list reached people named on it after circulating among relatives of group members. “We are waiting for the situation to calm down, but if it doesn’t, we will seek justice,” he said.
The extent of the boycott calls is difficult to establish. The Federation of the Jewish State of São Paulo and the Brazilian Israelite Confederation both issued statements condemning the targeting. The federation said Brazil’s Jewish community includes people with different beliefs and voting preferences, and that religious identity should not be confused with party affiliation or political choice. The confederation said calls to boycott people for their political opinions run counter to the Jewish tradition of pluralism and debate.
Those named have generally avoided discussing possible losses. However, one person told Folha that business arrangements fell through after the list circulated and said they preferred not to speak publicly in the hope that the situation would improve.
Before the election’s second round, Jews for Democracy held a rally for Lula at Casa do Povo in São Paulo’s Bom Retiro neighborhood. Attendees included vice president Geraldo Alckmin, former ministers Simone Tebet and Marina Silva, and Jewish officials Esther Dweck and Clara Ant. In a video posted after the vote, journalist Nay Ruiz described Casa do Povo as a memorial to Holocaust victims and a symbol of the survival of Jewish life, art and culture.
Semiatzh said he expects the need to engage with the re-elected president to help lower tensions and restore dialogue. He cited discussion of how antisemitism should be defined in legislation criminalizing racism as one practical issue facing the community.
He said a similar situation had occurred during the 2018 presidential election. In his view, hostility is fueled by what he described as false claims circulating among Jews that Lula is antisemitic. Arguments cited include tensions between Lula’s government and Israel, which currently has no ambassador in Brazil, and Lula’s support for the creation of a Palestinian state. Semiatzh said Lula supports a two-state solution, which his group also supports, while acknowledging that the president has made some problematic statements.
Semiatzh also noted that both presidential candidates received votes among Brazilian voters in Lebanon, Palestine and Israel, despite differing totals in each place.
Sources: Folha Poder.