Luis Fux, the first Jewish justice on Brazil’s Supreme Court, who was unanimously chosen in June to be the Chief Justice of the court, ended his swearing-in ceremony speech with the Hebrew words “Baruch Hashem,” a JTA report said.

“May humility, courage, independence, prudence and discipline guide the journey that I now begin,” Fux said on Thursday at the close of his speech in Brasilia. “May G-d protect me. Baruch Hashem.”

“Fux is a proud observer of Judaism. His serenity, competence and honesty will be important in choosing the court’s guidelines and conducting the sessions,” Arnon Velmovitsky, president of the Rio Jewish federation, told the JTA.

“This is a very special and significant moment for the Brazilian Jewish community, which comprises some 0.2 percent of the national population,” said Judge Denise Levy Tredler, of the Rio State Court of Justice.

הסטוריה (יהודית) בברזיל: הנשיא החדש של בית המשפט העליון, יהודי בשם לואיז פוקס, מסיים את נאום הבכורה שלו במילים "בעזרת ה'" pic.twitter.com/P7h0ChfWYd

— Zvika Klein צביקה קליין (@ZvikaKlein) September 14, 2020

Fux, who was born in Rio de Janeiro, is the grandson of Romanian refugees who fled Europe to Brazil during World War II. His grandmother later served as president of the Israelite Children’s Home in Rio.

In Brazil, the presidency of the Supreme Court is rotated among its 11 justices every two years.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)