CONIB Launches Project to Decode and Confront Antisemitism
How do we recognize hatred when it changes its language? This is one of the central questions driving Decoding Antisemitism, a new institutional project by the Brazilian Israelite Confederation (CONIB), to be launched on September 2 at Unibes Cultural in São Paulo.
Designed as a permanent initiative to confront antisemitism, the project goes far beyond recording expressions of hate. Its goal is to understand, explain, and make visible the mechanisms that allow prejudice to cross generations, adapt to new contexts, and reappear in different forms. Education, training, monitoring, and advocacy will be the pillars of this effort.
More than documenting explicit manifestations of hate, the project begins with a central question: how do we confront antisemitism when it is not recognized as such? The book seeks to provide tools for society to face it, says CONIB president Claudio Lottenberg.
The first major outcome of the project is Decoding Antisemitism: An Atlas of Tropes of Hate, from Deicide to Genocide, the result of extensive historical, sociological, and iconographic research. The work is authored by Anelise Fróes, Matheus Alexandre, and Bruno Cardoni Ruffier, with a preface by historian Maria Luiza Tucci Carneiro.
The Atlas highlights a crucial point: antisemitism does not remain static. Stereotypes change their appearance but preserve old structures of hate. Narratives built centuries ago can resurface today in images, speeches, memes, conspiracy theories, and other contemporary languages.
At the launch, interactive murals will present examples of tropes analyzed in the Atlas—understood as recurring stereotypes or narratives that reinforce prejudice against Jews. The experience will allow the public to explore the research methodology and see how certain codes of hate have transformed over time.
The initiative also expands into the digital sphere. Starting September 2, the platform combateaoantissemitismo.org.br will be available, featuring the full Atlas, a catalog of tropes, murals with more than 2,000 images, as well as podcasts and video lessons. Knowledge thus becomes an accessible tool for education and awareness.
The launch will also include a panel discussion on the project and the current challenges of combating antisemitism, with opening remarks by CONIB president Claudio Lottenberg, participation by anthropologist and Atlas author Anelise Fróes, and lawyers Rony Vainzof and Andrea Vainer, directors of CONIB’s National Project to Combat Antisemitism.
The urgency of the initiative is underscored by the digital landscape. According to CONIB’s Annual Report on Antisemitism in Brazil 2025, 80.9% of recorded incidents occurred on digital platforms. Monitoring identified 115,970 antisemitic mentions, with an estimated potential reach of 66 million people.
In this context, decoding is also a way of protecting. Naming the mechanisms of prejudice strips hate of its ability to hide behind symbols, irony, seemingly harmless discourse, or recycled narratives.
CONIB’s project is born, therefore, with a mission that goes beyond historical record: to transform knowledge into a tool of prevention. Combating antisemitism requires not only recognizing hate when it manifests, but also understanding its roots, identifying its codes, and preventing old ideas from finding new ways to survive.
Decoding is seeing. Seeing is understanding. And understanding is the first step toward transformation.
Project Launch – Decoding Antisemitism
September 2, 2026
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Unibes Cultural – São Paulo
Organized by: Brazilian Israelite Confederation (CONIB)
