FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 1, 2022 Santa Catarina, Brazil – After 32 years, Associação Israelita Catarinense (AIC) opens its first headquarter.
The Associação Israelita Catarinense (AIC) celebrated its 32 years of existence with the inauguration this Wednesday (1) with its own headquarter. The opening ceremony was attended by the president of CONIB, Claudio Lottenberg, the General Israeli Consul in Brazil, Rafael Erdreich, Rabbi Guershon Kwasniewski, representatives of the Public Ministry and other directors and supporters of AIC.
Claudio Lottenberg posted on his social networks: “I am very grateful to (AIC) President Eduardo Gentil for his hospitality and affection and I congratulate him on his brilliant work. During my visit in Santa Catarina, I visited Dr. Gilberto Callado de Oliveira Prosecutor, of the Public Ministry of Santa Catarina, who has carried out a tireless work in the fight against the anti-Semitism cells and in the fight against the hate speech”.
The AIC headquarters, called “Sala Jacques Schweidson” will function as a synagogue and congregational center for the Jewish community of Santa Catarina. The president of AIC, Eduardo Gentil, explains the tribute to Jacques Schweidson: “He was a successful businessman in Santa Catarina. He became famous for using his local influence to fight against the Nazism in Santa Catarina state in the first years after World War II. Always proud of his roots, Schweidson was also the first to declare himself Jewish in Florianópolis, at a time when local society treated this condition as a demerit. Later, Schweidson donated a property to AIC, the numerical values derived from this property were decisive for the acquisition of the headquarters”.
Link in Portuguese: https://www.conib.org.br/apos-32-anos-associacao-israelita-catarinense-aic-inaugura-sua-primeira-sede-propria/
Parashat Vayetze – English Reading