Rio de Janeiro sees wave of antisemitic incidents during Passover

A series of antisemitic incidents in Rio de Janeiro during the Passover holiday has prompted legal action and renewed calls for stronger national measures against antisemitism.

The incidents come amid a sharp rise in reported cases nationwide. According to figures from the Confederação Israelita do Brasil, nearly 1,000 antisemitic incidents were recorded in 2025—an increase of roughly 150% compared to 2022.

In one case, a bar in Rio’s Lapa neighborhood posted a sign reading “US & Israel citizens Are Not Welcome.” Following public outrage, Rio de Janeiro City Hall and the Brazilian Consumer Protection Agency fined the establishment about $1,850 for severe consumer discrimination. The bar now faces the potential revocation of its operating license.

A separate restaurant expressed support for the bar by posting an image of the Israeli flag marked with an “X” on social media, declaring Israelis unwelcome.

In another incident, Brazilian Jewish chef Monique Benoliel reported that a deli refused to sell her matzah for the holiday, with the owner stating he was “tired of Jews.”

“When business owners feel comfortable hanging signs stating that Israelis are not welcome or refusing to sell Passover food to a Jewish customer, it is a severe warning sign for all of society,” stated André Lajst, CEO of StandWithUs Brazil.

He added that the incidents reinforce the need to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism into Brazilian law.

The IHRA, an intergovernmental body comprising more than 40 countries, promotes Holocaust education and remembrance. Its working definition of antisemitism has been endorsed by more than 1,200 governments and institutions worldwide.

Brazil is home to one of Latin America’s largest Jewish communities, with an estimated 90,000 to 110,000 Jews, the second-largest in the region after Argentina.