Zionists' campaign against critics of Gaza genocide

A campaign led by segments of the Zionist lobby in Brazil has launched a series of public attacks against Arlene Clemesha, an Arab history researcher at the University of São Paulo (USP).

Clemesha, renowned for her academic work and public support for the Palestinian cause, has faced an organized defamation campaign after condemning the Zionist regime’s genocide in Gaza during public events.

She is a prominent researcher specializing in contemporary Arab history, Palestinian history, and Brazil-Arab world relations. Affiliated with USP’s Department of Oriental Literature, she is the author of the book “Marxism and Judaism: A History of a Difficult Relationship”.

In an interview, Clemesha explained the context of the recent wave of attacks against her. She stated: “What triggered this new wave of online threats from Zionist groups in Brazil was a podcast in which I exposed the growing rifts in the Zionist consensus that had dominated Jewish communities since the mid-1950s.” In the podcast, Clemesha also addressed the issue of Islamophobia in the modern world.

“I spoke about the importance of distinguishing anti-Semitism—a form of racism against Jews—from anti-Zionism, which is opposition to a political-ideological tendency,” Clemesha explained. “But the sheer fact that a non-Jew like myself was speaking about issues critical to local Zionist institutions—issues they wish to control—was too much for them. And so, they began a campaign to try to silence me.”

Clemesha noted that a new generation of Jewish voices in Brazil is emerging with strong anti-Zionist stances: “We’ve seen growing numbers of young Jewish people taking on active non-Zionist and anti-Zionist activism and protesting strongly against the Palestinian genocide.”

The Arab history researcher recently participated in the opening session of a Palestine and Middle East course offered by the Dinarcuris Foundation. There, as in many public forums, she condemned the Zionist regime’s military actions in Gaza. Although her statements were grounded in the language of international human rights, they met with severe backlash.

The Brazilian PCB party issued a public statement of solidarity in response to the attacks on Clemesha, describing them as politically and ideologically motivated and condemning them. The party stated: “The political and gendered violence against a respected USP researcher only reveals the nature of those who stand with Israel.”

Clemesha warned that the environment fostered by the Zionist lobby in Brazil contributes to a climate of fear and self-censorship. She said: “Professors and other professionals who are targeted feel vulnerable and fear losing their jobs. One of the worst forms of censorship is when fear of retaliation silences you even before you speak. So yes, freedom of expression in Brazil is under threat.”