Matheus Schnaider, a prominent member of the Jewish community, has been elected to a second three-year term as president of Rio’s prestigious Engineers Club (Clube de Engenharia) following a bitter anti-Semitic campaign waged by his opponents. Schnaider, 46, became the first Jew to head the club when he was elected president in 1982.
His re-election was opposed by the party of Rio’s Governor, Leonel Brizola, and by the leftist Partidos Dos Trabalhadores (Workers Party) or PT, both of which resorted to anti-Semitic cannards.
The PT, a strong supporter of the Palestine Liberation Organization, accused Schnaider of being “an agent of international Zionism.” During the campaign his home had to be protected by police because of anonymous telephone threats to his family.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
