B"H
Jewish Brazil - briefly
Brazil's approx. 170 million people speak Portuguese.
Brasilia, our capital, is an example of modernity and was planed by Jewish architect Oscar Niemeyer.
Rio de Janeiro is our main turistic city and has some 30,000 Jews living there. Main "Jewish area" is: Copacabana Beach, around Barata Ribeiro street. You may find a Kosher grocery and Shuls nearby.
São Paulo our largest city, is a world cultural and finantial center, home of approx. 80,000 Jews
Aproximately 120 thousand jews live, work, study, create, impress and leave they mark on our major cities since Brazil's discovery in April 22, 1500.
Portuguese and later on Dutch Jews played a significant rule in Brazil's development.
Many Portuguese Jews had to or chose to come to Brazil as an escape from the Inquisition.
These Jews mixed with the non-Jewish population across the centuries and very few of them still kept some conection with their Jewishness. Many are coming back to a full Jewish life today.
Yet, the vast majority of today's Brazilian Jews are in no way related to those who came from Portugal and Holland. We arrived mainly during the 20th century from Eastern Europe and Syria.
Most Brazilian Jews live in São Paulo. Important communities where formed in Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Belem, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba and Recife. Smaller communities can be found in Manaus, Salvador, our capital Brasília and inland cities. Not recommended: unguided tours to places such as the Amazon area.
Prominent Brazilian Jews are found in almost every field of our economy, arts and education.
We strive to make this website a good friend to our fellows in other countries, and an accurate guide for rabbis, teachers, businessmen and travellers from all over the world with special attention given to the Jewish businessman and traveller. Please write to us if you have any specific question or wish to have a Jewish Brazilian guide to your next business or pleasure visit to Brazil.
Thank you for visiting Jewish Brazil
Paulo R. Rosenbaum, B.A. in Sociology by the University of Haifa, Israel.
KOSHER
FOOD .................................excellent restaurants and groceries in main cities
SYNAGOGUES...................................
most denominations can be found in São Paulo
and Rio de Janeiro
LINKS...................................................
to Jewish Brazilian sites you may write them in English
TROPIKOSHER ................................ a brazilian
style taste of our Torah