JEWISH SOCIAL PROGRAMS, CONCERNS WITH ARAB-SOUTH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRASILIA 000658

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/04/2015
TAGS: PREL KPAL KSUM PTER XF XM BR
SUBJECT: JEWISH SOCIAL PROGRAMS, CONCERNS WITH ARAB-SOUTH
AMERICA SUMMIT HIGHLIGHT AMBASSADOR'S OUTREACH IN SAO PAULO

REF: A. BRASILIA 574

B. BRASILIA 564

C. 02 BRASILIA 4581

Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN DANILOVICH, Reasons 1.4 (b & d)


1. (C) Introduction and Summary: During a two-day visit to
Sao Paulo to meet that city's Jewish leadership, Ambassador
witnessed the community's highly effective social welfare
programs and delivered messages of support for the
commonality of ties between the U.S., Israel, and Brazil's
Jewish community. A key issue on the minds of interlocutors
was the Arab-South America Summit, and the Ambassador
received an in-depth perspective on it from B'nai Brith do
Brasil President Abraham Goldstein and the Chief Rabbi of Sao
Paulo's largest synagogue, Rabbi Henry Sobel. (Other Jewish
leaders gave opinions about the Summit during the
Ambassador's two day visit; their views are well reflected by
Goldstein and Sobel.) Goldstein and Sobel believed the
Summit, particularly with the currently flawed draft Summit
Declaration, will have a negative impact on Brazilian
citizens of both Jewish and Arab origins. While relations
between Brazilian Jews and Arabs, they affirmed, remain
close, the Summit, both feared, could become a catalyst for
latent anti-Semitism in Brazil. Jewish leadership in Sao
Paulo recognize USG efforts to prevent the Summit from doing
harm to the Mideast peace process and will do what they can
to assist. Meanwhile, there is a feeling the GOB may be
handling its Summit negotiations through the prism of its own
UNSC ambitions. Goldstein asked that President Bush and
Secretary Rice convey the concerns of the Jewish community to

SIPDIS
President Lula and Foreign Minister Amorim. The Ambassador
assured his interlocutors that this was already being done.
End Summary


2. (U) Over the course of two intense days, the Ambassador
engaged with leaders of Sao Paulo's Jewish community and
volunteer organizations and witnessed first hand the impact
of the community's extensive social welfare efforts for both
Jew and non-Jew. (For more on Jewish social NGOs, see ref C.)
At Albert Einstein Hospital, arguably Latin America's
premier clinical and medical research facility, the
Ambassador observed the success of targeted philanthropic
support to create an outstanding institution for which all
Brazilians can be proud. Before Sao Paulo's leading Jewish
luminaries at Hebraica, the largest Jewish club in the world,
the Ambassador described the commonality of interests between
the United States, Israel, and Sao Paulo's Jewish community.
His visit culminated with the delivery of the Sabbath evening
sermon at Sao Paulo's largest synagogue, Congregacao
Israelita Paulista, using the 140th anniversary of President
Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address to expound in Lincoln's
own words on emancipation and redemption of a divided nation
-- a timely theme not lost on the congregants. Throughout
his two-day visit, the Ambassador was received warmly and
graciously.

PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE
--------------


3. (U) Beginning with a visit to one of "Ten Yad's"
(literally "helping hand" in Hebrew) soup kitchens during a
busy lunch hour, the Ambassador received an intense
introduction to the Sao Paulo Jewish community's extensive
volunteerism. Executive Director Rabbi David Weitman and
Coordinator Terezinha Davidovich explained that Ten Yad
operated 11 social service programs geared primarily to Sao
Paulo's impoverished elderly and children. In addition to
soup kitchens, providing over 2000 lunches daily, Ten Yad
also runs a "meals on wheels" for almost 200 sick and elderly
shut-ins, a weekly "dairy kit" delivery service to supplement
family diets, a distribution service for "cestas basicas" for
poor families, and child care centers throughout the city.
Despite capacity constraints at its current facilities, Rabbi
Weitman explained that Ten Yad continues to grow and attract
new volunteers.


4. (U) From Ten Yad the Ambassador visited a day care and
academic enrichment center run by Unibes (Uniao
Brasileiro-Israelita de Bem-Estar Social). Begun early in
the Twentieth Century to assist Jewish immigrants, Unibes
President Dora Bremmer explained how the volunteer-run
organization has transformed itself to meet Brazil's current
social needs, including creches and education programs,
health care clinics, and a day program for mentally
handicapped adults and the elderly poor. Virtually all
clients, she noted, are non-Jewish. One of the most
interesting aspects of the Unibes tour was a vocational
training program for preparing youth for employment within
Sao Paulo's hotel sector. Both the Ten Yad and Unibes visits
received extensive coverage from Sao Paulo's Jewish press.

COMMUNITY FEARS ARAB-S.A. SUMMIT WILL HARM JEWISH INTERESTS
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Throughout the two-day visit, interlocutors expressed
fears about the upcoming Arab-South America Summit to be held
in Brasilia May 9-11. In order to receive a focused
explanation of the community's concerns with the Summit, the
Ambassador met with B'nai Brith do Brasil President Dr.
Abraham Goldstein and Rabbi Henry Sobel, Chief Rabbi of the
Congregacao Israelita Paulista. Their views reflected closely
those of other Jewish leaders. Both men were well-informed as
to the Summit's current state of play and deplored the
direction apparently being taken by the GOB. In their view,
GOB efforts to date reflected the government's highly biased
approach in favor of the Arabs. Rabbi Sobel went further,
adding that President Lula was no friend of Israel or the
Jewish people. Because of this attitude, Sobel argued that
Brazil was not an ideal candidate for a permanent seat on the
UNSC.

B'NAI BRITH SEES RISING ANTI-SEMITISM
--------------


6. (C) Despite generally cordial ties among Brazil's diverse
religious and ethnic groups, the B'nai Brith President saw
evidence that anti-Semitism in Brazil was on the rise.
Goldstein specifically cited the situation for Jews on
Brazilian campuses where Jewish students face worsening
anti-Israel peer pressure and slanderous anti-Jewish
comments. An important contributing factor to the
anti-Semitic behavior, both Goldstein and Sobel believe, is
the pro-Palestinian attitude of the Lula administration and
the ruling PT party. Sobel described Lula himself as
anti-Semitic -- an attitude, Sobel felt, held by Lula even
before he was a successful candidate for president. Sobel
explained that Lula's anti-Semitism was masked behind a
facade of anti-Zionism and pointedly noted that this was in
clear contrast to Catholic Church doctrine that advocacy of
anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitic views, both men
asserted, also existed within senior leadership of the
Ministry of External Relations (MRE),and Sobel specifically
cited MRE Secretary General Samuel Guimaraes. While B'nai
Brith International is following the situation closely,
Goldstein does not believe the time is yet ripe for a big
public splash on this topic, for example an op-ed piece in
the mainstream Brazilian press.


7. (C) According to Goldstein, Jewish members of Lula's
inner circle, Press Secretary Andre Singer and Secretary for
Economic and Social Development Jacques Wagner, had recently
attempted to smooth over any misunderstanding between Lula's
PT-led government and Jewish leadership over Foreign Minister
Amorim's recent Mideast trip. However, the attempted
rapprochement by Wagner and Singer, Goldstein pointed out,
failed to hide the Lula administration's negative attitude
towards the Israeli Government. Regarding Amorim's snub of
Israel during his Middle East trip, Dr. Goldstein belittled
GOB excuses that there was no time during the eight nation
trip to stop in Jerusalem and agreed that the last minute GOB
decision to allow Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Olmert to
meet President Lula on March 8 appeared to be in reaction to
the negative blowback from Amorim's trip. (Amorim is in
Africa this week and will not meet Olmert.) Skeptical that
an Amorim visit to Israel would occur in June/July as
promised by the GOB, Goldstein added that a planned visit to
Israel by Commerce Minister Furlan might also be delayed
until 2006.

PREPARING FOR THE SUMMIT
--------------


8. (C) Goldstein explained that B'nai Brith is working off a
plan of action in the lead-up to the Summit. B'nai Brith is
seeking to organize all relevant Jewish organizations,
including the World Jewish Congress and many within the
American Jewish community, to react vocally to the Summit. It
is also reaching out to Brazilian allies, the Catholic
Church, and even to the Arab and Lebanese Christian
communities to promote inter-religious harmony in the face of
possible negative rhetoric. The President of the National
Conference of Brazilian Bishops said he would issue a
statement of support by the end of April. Although one key
purpose of the Summit is the promotion of Arab-South American
commercial ties, Goldstein belittled this aspect of the
Summit and pointed specifically to a continued Arab boycott,
particularly by Saudi Arabia, against Jewish-owned Brazilian
enterprises. This is the type of issue, he said, that should
be addressed by the GOB in its deliberations with the Arabs.
During the Olmert visit, B'nai Brith also intends to deliver
a positive three part message to the GOB: excellent business
opportunities exist with Israel and should be expanded,
poverty can be reduced with Israel's technological help, and
Brazil can serve as a reference point for how diverse
communities can live together in peace. Meanwhile, Goldstein
believes Israel itself has to do more lobbying with the GOB
and not automatically assume Brazil is a lost cause.


9. (C) Reflecting on a possible Brazil press campaign,
Goldstein said that while the editor of "O Estado de Sao
Paulo" promised "positive" editorials, other mainstream
newspapers are perceived to have a pro-Palestinian tilt and
are not likely be very helpful. He discarded media outlets
that are consistently against the government and discounted
the effectiveness of having luminaries from the previous
government, such as former President Fernando Henrique
Cardoso and former Foreign Minister Celso Lafer (himself
Jewish),write articles against the current administration.
Getting the anti-Lula PSDB to oppose the government was "too
obvious," Goldstein commented. B'nai Brith would continue to
try to identify those in the Brazilian press who might make
positive editorials, and had the added benefit of not being
Jewish. Goldstein remarked about the paucity of press about
the Summit generally, anywhere in South America. This, he
suspected, perhaps reflects the GOB's success in keeping the
polemics of the debate under wraps.


10. (C) Looking at the larger picture over the next few
weeks, Goldstein believes at least two South American
countries, Colombia and Chile, would oppose anti-Israel
language in the final draft Summit declaration. He is unsure
of Argentina and is resigned to Venezuela's virulent support
for any anti-Israel language. No doubt, Goldstein added, the
Summit was discussed among the South American Presidents last
week in Uruguay. Goldstein conceded that with the help of
recent events in the Middle East, Amorim had apparently made
some progress to soften the harshest draft declaration
language, but since the Foreign Minister still remains
fixated on delivering the release of Brazil's one hostage in
Iraq, his negotiations with the Arabs may not be tough enough
to achieve what B'nai Brith would consider success.


11. (C) A successful effort, B'nai Brith feels, would secure
minimum references, if any, in the Summit declaration to
(anti-Israel) UNSC resolutions . Ideally, the Summit would
return to its original focus on economic, social, and
cultural issues, but Goldstein acknowledged that was asking
for too much. Goldstein and Sobel agreed with the Ambassador
that the chorus should be broadened, and they agreed to
approach Sao Paulo's Lebanese community. Both also supported
the USG effort to include democracy building among the
Summit's principal pillars.


12. (C) Comment: Not only was the Ambassador warmly welcomed
by Jewish organizations and leaders who were ecstatic that
the Ambassador would give up so much of his time to visit, he
also received highly vocal support for USG objectives towards
the Arab-South America Summit and the Mideast peace process.
Interlocutors also favored expanded outreach to other
communities in Sao Paulo to share ideas about the Summit and
other issues. B'nai Brith and others are very aware of the
state of play of Summit preparations and will, over coming
weeks, seek to put pressure on the Brazilian Government for a
stronger stance vis a vis the Arabs. However, there is also
a sense that, as evidenced by FM's recent trip to the Middle
East, the GOB will continue to possess a "tin ear" for
Israel, even as it seeks the best possible spin for its own
ambitions for a permanent UNSC seat -- perceived by many as
the GOB's most important foreign policy objective -- no
matter what the cost.

Danilovich