The Brazilian Ministry of Education appointed a special commission today to revise encyclopedias and dictionaries used in the public schools to eliminate anti-Semitic allusions and definitions.
A campaign to purge the schoolbooks was launched here two years ago by Dr. Fernando Leviaky, a local attorney. Dictionaries used in the schools now define a Jew as “a devil, Satan, swindler.” A synagogue is defined in an encyclopedia as “a center for dishonest merchants.”
Dr. Levisky received wide support for his proposed revisions from prominent Basilan political figures, clergymen and writers, A new dictionary recently published privately–not for use in schools–has already eliminated the anti-Semitic Interpretations.
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.
