Abraham Bentes

Who was Abraham Bentes?

Abraham Ramiro Bentes was a Brazilian Army commander and linguist.

Born in Itaituba, Pará State in Northern Brazil, he was the offspring of Jewish immigrants from Morocco. Bentes joined the Brazilian Army in the 1930s and after a long distinguished career reached the post of four-star general and was the inspector-general of the Army. After retirement from active service, he became involved in Jewish community affairs in Rio de Janeiro, serving as president of the Shel Guemilut congregation and as an officer of the Clube Hebraica. General Bentes also wrote extensively about the history of the Sephardi community in Brazil and their language.