President Janio Quadros today ordered the Brazilian Minister of Education to cleanse dictionaries used in the public schools which use terms “offensive to various races, nations or religions.”
The order was a victory for Fernando Levisky, prominent Jewish attorney and author who, for some years, has been conducting a campaign to remove from the school dictionaries various references offensive to Jews. In some of the dictionaries, the word Jew is interpreted as meaning “swindler” or “loan shark”; a rabbi is defined as “a devil”; while a synagogue is called “a place where Jews conduct shady business.”
Six months ago, a special commission formed for the purpose in the Brazilian Education Ministry rejected Mr. Levisky’s charges. Since then, a new edition of a Portuguese dictionary for use in the public schools has been issued, using the same, old offensive “interpretations.” Mr. Levisky took up the matter personally with President Quadros, and today’s order resulted.
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