March 23, 2012 – São Paulo – An AJC delegation concluded today a diplomatic visit to Brazil. It was the gobal advoacy organization’s third visit to Brazil in four years, and third to Latin America in 2012. AJC traveled recently to Guatemala and Colombia, two pivotal non-permanent members of the UN Security Council. 

The group, led by AJC Executive Director David Harris, held meetings in São Paulo, home to most of Brazil's 120,000-person Jewish community, and Brasilia, the nation's capital.

In Brasilia, the delegation was received by Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota, known to AJC since his posting as Brazil's Ambassador in Washington; Fernando Collor de Mello, former President and chairman of the Senate's Committee on External Relations and National Defense; American Ambassador Thomas Shannon; and Israeli Ambassador Rafael Eldad.  The Iranian nuclear threat, Arab upheaval, Middle East peace process, and Brazilian-U.S. bilateral relationship were high on the AJC agenda.

In São Paulo, AJC furthered its ongoing strategic dialogue with the Jewish community, which will continue at AJC’s Global Forum in May in Washington. Representatives from more than 50 international communities, including 15 Brazilian Jewish leaders, will attend.

"Brazil is rapidly emerging as a regional and global powerhouse," explained Harris. "It just replaced the United Kingdom as the world's sixth largest economy. It has become a major energy player, industrial manufacturer, and a key food exporter. It will host the World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016. And, as the largest Latin American nation, it plays an increasingly important role in the UN and other multilateral bodies, and aspires to forge a regional consensus on critical international issues."

AJC's relationship with Brazil has been cultivated by its dynamic Latino and Latin American Institute, established in 2005. Institute Director Dina Siegel Vann and two members of the Institute's Board of Trustees, Fred Pressner and Mario Fleck, were part of the delegation in Brazil.

Earlier this year, the reationship marked a milestone when Muriel Asseraf was appointed as AJC's on-the-ground representative in São Paulo, the global agency's ninth overseas post.  

In September, Asseraf, along with the São Paulo community, accompanied a group of prominent Brazilian journalists to Israel with AJC's Project Interchange, which brings influentials to Israel for weeklong missions.

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