Brazilian sociologist Prof. Jessé Souza posted a video on social media containing antisemitic claims that the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was funded by a “Jewish lobby,” according to a report by the Brazilian newspaper Estadão.
In the video, published on Instagram, Souza alleged that Epstein — who was arrested in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and died in a U.S. jail that August — was “the perfect product of Jewish Zionism.” He further claimed that Epstein “was not only funded by the Jewish lobby, but that Zionism is the driving force behind all the crimes committed by him.”
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Jeffrey Epstein,
(Photo: New York State Sex Offender Registry/AP, Fabio Rodrigues Pozzebom/Agência Brasil/Wikipedia)
Epstein had previously pleaded guilty in 2008 to a Florida state charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor.
The remarks drew strong condemnation from the Confederação Israelita do Brasil, the umbrella organization representing Brazil’s Jewish community. The group said it was “regrettable that Prof. Souza uses his academic standing as a platform to spread hatred against Jews.”
Following the backlash, Souza deleted the video and issued a public apology. However, according to CNN Brasil, his apology was qualified. He maintained that “Epstein is a product of Zionism as a racist and murderous ideology.”
In a statement posted Tuesday, Souza said he opposes all forms of discrimination and insisted he had not accused individuals or any specific group, but rather a “structure of power.” He acknowledged that he erred by failing to distinguish between what he described as the “Zionist lobby” and the “Jewish lobby,” and expressed regret for what he called a misunderstanding.
Souza concluded his remarks by criticizing what he described as “two years of absolute silence in the face of the genocide of the Palestinian people.”