The São Paulo Hebrew Congregation (, abbreviated as CIP) is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, with this to the Conservative movement, located in São Paulo, Brazil. It is the largest congregation in Latin America, serving more than 2,000 families. The congregation was established in 1936 by a group of refugees from Nazi Germany.

History

The rabbinate of the congregation that follows the liberal movements of Judaism (although not only affiliated to the Reform movement, but also affiliated to the Conservative movement), is currently composed by rabbis Michel Schlesinger, Ruben Sternschein, Rogério Cukierman, and Tamara Schagas. There are also the chazanim (cantors) Avi Bursztein, Alexandre Edelstein, and Alexandre Schinazi. The CIP is known for being the largest Jewish congregation in Latin America, estimated at ninety eight thousand Jews. They promote a diverse number of activities: religious services, Jewish study groups, informal Jewish school, choir, activities for senior citizens, fields of study, Zionist youth groups (Chazit Hanoar), Boy Scouts and Girl Guides (in Avanhandava), distinguishing itself positively in São Paulo's Jewish community.

Activism

The congregation has historically engaged in several types of political activism. Maria Luiza Tucci Carneiro of the University of Sao Paolo, wrote that the congregation "is seen as a space of resistance and memory because it initially welcomed German Jews, persecuted by Nazism, and later Italian Jews, persecuted by fascism. Then a resistance nucleus emerged that left a very important legacy in Brazilian culture". Following the death of Jewish journalist Vladimir Herzog during the Military dictatorship in Brazil in the 1970s, the congregation's chief rabbi Henry Sobel stood with interfaith leaders to denounce Herzog's murder by security forces.

Leadership