Diaspora, Delegitimisation, and Foreign Policy: Unpacking Brazil’s Vote for the “Zionism is Racism” United Nations Resolution

Diaspora boundaries and racial democracy: Nationalist discourses on Judaism and Zionism in Brazil

“…Whereas most Latin American countries either opposed the resolution, abstained, or did not vote, Brazil supported it on both occasions, causing much anxiety among its Jewish population. While the historical evidence suggests that Brazil's vote was primarily motivated by its wish to secure Arab oil imports and petrodollar investments and assert its autonomy from Washington (Santos and Santos & Uziel, 2015), Brazil's rejection of the Jewish diasporic stance seems to have been a factor in the decision (Chor Maio, 1999, p. 252, Grossman, 2022a, p. 534).…”

“…Even as the Geisel administration publicly condemned Brazilian Zionism, it did not restrict Zionist activities in any way. One possible explanation for this was that such repression would have raised harsh international criticism against Brazil, which was already chastised for its human rights violations (Grossman, 2022a, p. 533). In addition, the vote against Zionism did not resonate with Brazilian public opinion; most Brazilian newspapers criticised it (Dávila & Lesser, 2012, p. 236).…”

“…Yet, there has been little study of the dictatorship period beyond the single case study of Brazil's vote for the 1975 anti‐Zionist resolution. Moreover, most scholars investigating this vote (e.g., Dávila & Lesser, 2012; Santos & Uziel, 2015; Sochaczewski, 2014) focused on its foreign policy aspects rather than its domestic implications for Jewish Brazilians (two exceptions are Chor Maio, 1999, Grossman, 2022a). By analysing the discourse throughout the entire dictatorship period rather than focusing on a single incident, I seek to bridge this historiographical gap.…”

“…In 1975, Brazil voted in favour of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 3379, which labelled Zionism 'a form of racism and racial discrimination'. On that occasion, official spokespersons of the Brazilian government publicly delegitimised those Jewish Brazilian citizens who felt an attachment to Israel, questioning their loyalty to Brazil and framing them as a potential security threat (Grossman, 2022a). Moreover, they framed Brazilian Zionism-which they understood as Jewish Brazilians' support for the State of Israel-as undermining Brazil's national ideology, according to which immigrants and their offspring had to shed off their past ethnic and national identities and adopt a uniform Brazilian identity.…”