According to the Brazilian Israelite Confederation (CONIB), complaints of antisemitism in October alone surged by 961% compared to the same period in 2022, rising from 44 to 467.

In a press release regarding these statistics, President of CONIB, Claudio Lottenberg, said: “Behind these numbers are children who are bullied at school…teachers who received messages saluting the terrorist group Hamas, and…many anti-Semitic comments of Nazism and death threats on social media.”

A Jewish-Brazilian public servant from Rio de Janeiro, speaking on the condition of anonymity, expressed the community’s newfound anxiety. He told the Daily Express: “This is a new situation in Brazil. We have never had to deal with terrorist attacks threatening the Jewish community. We are experiencing antisemitism for the first time here in Rio de Janeiro and people are very frightened.”

Marcio Chachamovich, president of the Israelite Federation of Rio Grande do Sul, emphasized that while the Jewish community in his region views the arrests with great concern, they will continue their activities with reinforced security. He said: “Fear cannot take over us. We have the duty to carry on with our lives and show that terror will not prevent us from going out and living normally.”

Jessica Rasinovsky, a Jewish woman from São Paulo, told the Daily Express about some of the “reinforced security” measures being carried out at Jewish establishments in her city.

She said: “Since the war began, Jewish institutions have set up increased security. At the Hebraica club in São Paulo, for example, cars are searched and armed police have been stationed to provide security….everyone is anxious and tense.”

Rasinosky explained that after the news about the foiled Hezbollah attack came out, security was increased even further and some public Jewish events were canceled.

Rasinosky added: “I fear arriving home and finding something at my door, some symbol or something like that. It makes me afraid to leave my house and come home, you know?”

Antisemitism has seen a dramatic increase around the globe. In Latin America, swastikas and other antisemitic messages have been found spraypainted on synagogues and Israeli embassies. In France, a Jewish woman was stabbed in her home and a swastika was graffitied on her door. In Australia, a synagogue had to be evacuated as pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated nearby.

Data from the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism has found that, in the United States, reported incidents of harassment, vandalism, and assault increased by 388 percent in the period immediately after the Hamas attack on Israel.

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