<Modern Period.
[Religious tolerance in
Brazil since 1822 - republic constitution since 1891]
Two years after Brazil declared its independence from
Portugal in 1822 it adopted its first constitution. Roman
Catholicism remained the state religion, but the
constitution proclaimed tolerance of other religions,
provided their adherents respected the state religion and
public morals and conducted their religious life in private.
Non-Catholic religious services were restricted to private
dwellings or to buildings whose outward appearance would not
disclose their purpose.
The new constitution adopted by Brazil in 1891, after the
country became a republic, abolished all vestiges of
religious discrimination, ensured the civil rights of all
citizens, and provided for the introduction of civil
marriage and the establishment of nonsectarian municipal
cemeteries. The principles of freedom of conscience and
religion and of equality before the law have been retained
in all the constitutions subsequently adopted by Brazil - in
1934, 1937, 1946, and 1967.
[Assimilation since 1824 -
Sephardi Jewish immigrants founding synagogues and
communities - Jewish immigrants from eastern and western
Europe]
By the time Brazil gained its independence, Brazilian
Marranos, i.e., Jews who had originally come to the colony
from Portugal, had been absorbed by the general population
and were no longer identifiable. There were a handful of
Jews of non-Portuguese origin distributed in various parts
of the country, but they had little contact with one
another, and consequently there was no organized Jewish life
in the country.
The earliest manifestations of renewed Jewish life in Brazil
are to be found in the northern states. The first synagogue,
Porta do Céu ("Gate of Heaven"), was established in Belém,
the capital of Pará, in 1824 by Sephardi Jews who had
immigrated from Morocco at the beginning of the 19th
century. Immigrants from Morocco formed small communities in
other places in northern Brazil and in 1889 founded a second
synagogue in Belém.
By World War I, Belém's Sephardi community of about 800
people had its own charitable organizations and social club.
There were also small Sephardi communities in Amazonas,
another northern state, founded by immigrants who had come
toward the end of the 19th century.
In the southern part of the country, there were a few Jewish
immigrants who had arrived from eastern Europe in the second
half of the 19th century.
In Rio de Janeiro a group of Jews from western Europe
founded their own cemetery in 1873. This first step,
however, did not lead to the development of organized Jewish
life in the city at this stage, when the Jewish population
was rather small (in 1890 Rio de Janeiro had about 200 Jews)
and indifferent toward communal life. In São Paulo, the
first community, also rather restricted in size, was
organized in 1897.
[Jewish communities and
Jewish immigration 1900-1930 - immigration restrictions
since 1930 - new immigration solutions for some 17,500
Jewish immigrants 1933-1939]
The modern Jewish community of Brazil, consisting primarily
of East European Jews, had its formal beginnings in 1903,
when the first attempts were made to organize agricultural
settlement of Jews in the southern part of the country (see
above Agricultural Settlements). By World War I, Brazil had
a Jewish population of 5,000-7,000. After the war there was
a marked increase in Jewish immigration, and in the decade
from 1920 to 1930, 28,820 Jews entered the country, mostly
from eastern Europe (according to figures provided by Jewish
immigrant aid societies at the time).
The year 1930 was a turning point in Brazil's immigration
policy, which became increasingly restrictive and had a n
adverse effect upon the immigration of Jews. In 1937 the
tendency to select immigrants on the basis of their ethnic
origin was carried to the extreme when a secret order was
circulated to Brazilian consulates abroad to reject all visa
applications submitted by Jews. Both the 1934 and 1937
constitutions and a decree issued in 1938 provided for a
quota system of immigration that was not to exceed 2%
(annually) of the total number of immigrants from any
particular country in the period 1884-1934 and was to (col.
1328)
consist of up to 80% agricultural labourers. It was
impossible for Jews to exploit even these restricted quotas,
in view of the official discrimination practiced against
them.
Nevertheless, Jewish immigration, mainly from Nazi-dominated
Europe, continued by a variety of means. From time to time
special provisions were made for the immigration of people
skilled in certain fields or relatives of Brazilian
citizens. The law also made it possible for the authorities
to accord to tourists the status of permanent residents. In
this manner, some 17,500 Jews entered Brazil between 1933
and 1939.
In 1940 the Brazilian government, at the request of the
Vatican, permitted the entry of 3,000 German refugees who
had converted to Catholicism.
[[The years 1940-1956 are missing in the article]].
[1956: immigration from
African countries]
In the period 1956-57, 2,500 Jews from Egypt, and about
1,000 from North Africa (mainly from Morocco) were admitted,
and from time to time smaller groups were able to enter the
country.
[Numbers]
According to the official census, the Jewish population of
Brazil in 1940 was 55,668, and in 1950, 69,957; the actual
figure was much higher. In 1969, the size of the Jewish
population was estimated at 130,000 to 140,000 spread over
the large cities: Rio de Janeiro (50,000), São Paulo
(50-55,000), Pôrto Alegre (12,000), Belo Horizonte (3,000),
Recife (1,600), Curitiba (1,300), Belém (1,200) and Bahia
(800). There were 80 families in the new capital Brasilia,
and Jews were living in smaller numbers in various other
towns. (col. 1329)
[[...]]
Jewish Participation in
Brazilian National Life.
[Jewish profession
development: crafts and Jewish "industrial pioneers" in
Brazil - Jews in Brazil politics]
Considering its small percentage in the total population the
Jewish community plays a relatively important role in the
life of the country, especially in the economic sphere. Most
of the early Jews became itinerant peddlers, except for a
small group of immigrants who worked at their trades as
artisans. In the course of time, however, this situation
underwent a change. The Jewish tradesmen who settled in the
country after World War I soon became manufacturers and
industrial pioneers in their fields - especially textile,
ready-made clothes, furniture, and, at a later period,
construction.
An outstanding example of industrial pioneers is the *Klabin
family, which leads in paper manufacture and associated
industries. The peddlers eventually became wholesalers and
retailers, and some also entered industry. No precise data
are available on the occupational composition of Brazil
Jewry; the majority are engaged in commerce and the rest in
industry and services.
Some Brazilian Jews hold administrative posts and others
take part in the political life of the country. In the 1966
parliamentary elections, six Jews, representing various
parties, were elected to the federal legislature. There are
also Jewish members of the state legislatures and the
municipal councils. Horacio *Lafer was a leading Jewish
(col. 1331)
political figure and served as finance minister and foreign
minister of Brazil. A former federal deputy, Aarão
*Steinbruch, was elected senator, the first Jew to be
elected to that prestigious post. Jews hold positions in the
armed forces and in the judiciary and are active in the arts
and sciences.
[EL.LI.]> (col. 1332)