Marcus M. Gilban RSS

is JTA's correspondent in Rio de Janeiro. A freelance journalist and columnist, he contributes to Brazilian Jewish newspapers, magazines and news portals.

Latest

• Stabbing of Brazil’s front-running presidential candidate sparks reports of a rivalry between Jewish and Arab hospitals

  September 9, 2018 5:48am

  RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — The front-runner in Brazil’s presidential race, who is openly pro-Israel, was stabbed and seriously injured during a street rally, and was transferred to a Jewish hospital after declining treatment at a facility founded by Arabs. Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right lawmaker who many refer to as “Brazil’s Trump,” was stabbed in the stomach…

• Ancient Torah scroll is safe after fire engulfs an iconic museum in Brazil

  September 4, 2018 12:11pm

  RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — An ancient Torah scroll once owned by a Brazilian emperor had been removed from Brazil’s National Museum for restoration prior to the massive fire that engulfed the building in Rio on Sunday. Unlike other irreplaceable treasures, the 13th-century Yemenite Torah scroll once owned by emperor Pedro II is safe at another…

• Presidential front-runner in Brazil vows to move embassy to Jerusalem and close Palestinian embassy

  August 8, 2018 7:08am

  RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — The front-runner in Brazil’s presidential race said he will close the Palestinian embassy in Brasilia and move his country’s embassy to Jerusalem. “Is Palestine a country? Palestine is not a country, so there should be no embassy here,” Jair Bolsonaro, a lawmaker from the Social Liberal Party, said Tuesday when the…

• Ecuador honors first Israeli woman to win the Nobel Prize

  August 6, 2018 8:26am

  RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — Ecuador’s National Congress honored an Israeli Nobel laureate. Ada Yonath, who won the 2009 prize for chemistry, received a medal of scientific merit from the National Assembly’s president, Elizabeth Cabezas, at a ceremony Thursday in Quito, newspaper El Telegrafo reported. “The National Assembly of Ecuador highlights the role of an Israeli…

• An elite private academy in Rio is putting pressure on the city’s Jewish day schools

  July 9, 2018 2:42pm

  RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) – One of the hottest topics among Rio Jewish families today sits right across the street from both the city’s largest synagogue and the site of a future Holocaust memorial. It’s a non-Jewish day school, directed by a Cohen with the support of a Levy, that is becoming a magnet to Jewish…

• Israeli honeymooner killed, wife injured in zip-line accident in Honduras

  July 8, 2018 9:50am

  RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) – A newly wed Israeli man was killed and his wife seriously injured in a zip-line accident during their honeymoon in Honduras. Egael Tishman, 24, and Shif Fanken, 27, were on a zip line over a treetop canopy near Roatan on the island of Bahia when they crashed into each other…

• Colombia’s president-elect open to moving embassy to Jerusalem

  June 19, 2018 7:15am

  RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — Colombia’s newly elected president said he would consider moving the country’s embassy to Jerusalem. Ivan Duque, 41, of the right-wing Democratic Center Party, would make Colombia the third Latin American country, and the fourth in total, to follow the example of the United States if he follows through. Israeli officials…

• Rio mayor sings to raise funds for Holocaust memorial

  June 17, 2018 4:35am

  RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — Thousands paid to watch the mayor of Rio sing at a concert where the box office was entirely donated to the construction of a Holocaust memorial. Some 4,000 people listened to several gospel songs sung by Marcelo Crivella, who is a fervent Evangelical Christian and a longtime friend of the…

• Jewish gay activists march together for first time in Sao Paulo pride parade

  June 5, 2018 3:20am

  SAO PAULO (JTA) — Some 600 Jewish gay activists and supporters marched as a group for the first time at the Sao Paulo gay pride parade. The group, wearing white T-shirts with a Star of David in rainbow colors, was supported by the local Israeli consulate, which was publicizing the Tel Aviv gay parade set for June…

• Millions of Brazilians hail Israel during March for Jesus

  June 3, 2018 5:25am

  SAO PAULO (JTA) — About 2 million people cheered for Israel during an annual Christian march in Brazil. Evangelical Christians waved Israeli flags and prayed for the Jewish state during the March for Jesus held Thursday in Sao Paulo. For the first time in nearly 20 years, Jewish officials were invited to attend the event,…