AJC appoints rep in Brazil

Muriel Asseraf will relocate to São Paulo and become the American Jewish C'tee's first permanent official to country.

By GIL STERN STERN SHEFLER
Brazil Flag 311 (photo credit: courtesy)
Brazil Flag 311
(photo credit: courtesy)
In a sign of recognition of Brazil’s rising importance in the international arena, the American Jewish Committee has appointed a new representative to the Latin American nation, it announced on Wednesday.
Muriel Asseraf, a French citizen and graduate of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, will relocate to São Paulo and become the New York-based Jewish advocacy group’s first permanent official in the country.
“We greatly value the economic and strategic importance of Latin America – and Brazil in particular – as an emerging regional and global power,” said Dina Siegel Vann, director of AJC’s Washington- and Miami-based Latino and Latin American Institute.
“Our representative will help further strengthen AJC’s partnership with the vibrant São Paulo Jewish community, and continue addressing jointly the most pressing issues of Jewish advocacy regionally and internationally.”
Brazil – once referred to as the “the land of the future [that] will always be” – has come into its own over the past decade. Bolstered by its size, demographics and natural resources, Brasilia has shown a newfound sense of confidence that has been noted by capitals around the world.