While Kanye West’s deranged, antisemitic ramblings continue to draw global attention, a more insidious form of antisemitism has been making noise in South America, an antisemitism based on what one Brazilian academic calls “the imaginary Jew.” In June, at the invitation of Jewish leaders in Florianopolis, capital of the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, I met state legislator Felipe Estevão to discuss his sponsorship of bills to combat antisemitism in Santa Catarina and mandate Holocaust education. Estevão’s efforts were, of course, welcome. But though I lived and worked in Brazil as a rabbi, and travel there frequently, only very recently did I grasp their importance. Brazilian Jews — and many non-Jewish Brazilians — were shocked this week by images from Santa Catarina of thousands of Bolsonaro supporters protesting the results of the Oct. 30 election, standing at attention, giving the Nazi salute while singing the Brazilian national anthem. The Confederação Israelita do Brasil, Brazilian Jewry’s key umbrella institution, quickly responded, stating that, “Nazism preaches and practices death and destruction. Brazilian society cannot tolerate attitudes like this.” Demonstrations protesting the Brazilian election results took place throughout the country, but the neo-Nazi element is especially strong in the country’s south. This might seem odd. Eduardo Gentil, president of Santa Catarina’s Jewish community, notes that the state is home to only 500 Jews. As this is less than one-thousandth of 1% of the total population in that state, a strong undercurrent of antisemitism might seem unexpected. But then, antisemitism is a free-floating hate-driven conspiracy and doesn’t need to be tethered to anything, not even real Jewish people. In Santa Catarina, there’s also history. Long a destination of German immigrants, the state was home to the first and perhaps largest Nazi party affiliate outside Germany. German culture has historically been honored in this part of the country. “For many,” Gentil explains, “this cultural background provided a natural path to neo-Nazi activities, even though few if any of these individuals have ever met a Jew.”
via latimes: Op-Ed: Antisemitism’s ‘imaginary Jew’ is the target in Brazil’s pro-Bolsonaro, neo-Nazi demonstrations