Jewish in South America. Part I

 

Argentina

Jews fleeing the Inquisition settled in Argentina, but Argentina assimilated into society "is not Jewish." Portuguese traders and smugglers in the Virreinato del Río de la Plata were considered by many to be crypto-Jewish, but no community emerged after the independence of Argentina. After 1810 (and about mid-nineteenth century), Jews, especially from France, began to settle in Argentina. By the end of the century in Argentina, as in America, many Jews came from Eastern Europe (mainly Russia and Poland) fleeing Tsarist persecution. Upon arrival they were called "Russians" in reference to their region of origin.

About 250,000 Jews now live in Argentina, the vast majority of whom reside in the cities of Buenos Aires, Rosario, Córdoba, Mendoza, La Plata and San Miguel de Tucumán, and is considered the third largest Jewish community in the Americas after the United States and Canada, and the sixth largest in the world. According to recent surveys more than a million Argentines have at least one grandparent of Jewish origin. Jewish community Legally Argentina receives seven holidays per year, with the first two days of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the first and last two days of Passover according to the law 26,089.

Brazil

Jews settled early in Brazil, especially when it was under Dutch rule, setting up a synagogue in Recife—the first synagogue in the Americas—as early as 1636. Most of these Jews were former Christians who had fled Spain and Portugal to the religious freedom of the Netherlands during the establishment of the Inquisition in Portugal (1536). In 1656, following the Portuguese reconquest of the area, they left for the Caribbean and New Amsterdam, later to become New York City.

Jews resettled in Brazil in the 19th century after independence and immigration rose throughout the 19th and early 20th century. Jewish immigration to Brazil was rather low between 1881–1900 although this was the height of world wide immigration to Brazil. Between 1921 and 1942 worldwide immigration to Brazil fell by 21%, but Jewish immigration to Brazil increased by 57,000, largely because of anti-immigration legislation and immigration quotas passed by the United States, Argentina, Canada and South Africa.

Furthermore, the Brazilian government maintained a good relationship with immigration legislation which they did not enforce. Lastly, the Jews in Brazil developed strong support structures and economic opportunities in the Jewish community which were pull factors that attracted Eastern European and Polish Jewish immigration. Posted by JSF (a summary of Jeffrey Lesser's article: "The Immigration and Integration of Polish Jews in Brazil")

Brazil has the 9th largest Jewish community in the world, about 107,329 by 2010, according to the IBGE census.

Chile

Despite being a relatively small community and accounting for no more than 1% of the country's religious minorities, Jews in Chile have achieved prominent positions in the Chilean society and have played a key part in the diverse composition of the country's culture both before and after its independence in 1810. Most of Chilean Jews today reside in Santiago and Valparaíso, but there are significant communities in the north and south of the country. Some of the country's most recognized personalities are Jews.

The famous host of Latin TV sensation and longest running TV show in the world 'Sábado Gigante', Mario Kreutzberger—otherwise known as "Don Francisco"—is a Chilean Jew of German origin. Among the Chilean Jews who have achieved recognition in the field of Arts and Culture are Alejandro Jodorowsky, now established in France and best known for his literary and theatrical work. Others include Nissim Sharim (actor), Shlomit Baytelman (actress) and Anita Klesky (actress). Volodia Teitelboim, poet and former leader of the Chilean Communist Party is one of the many Jews to have held important political positions in the country.

Others include Tomás Hirsch, leader of the radical green-communist coalition and former presidential candidate in 2005 plus two current state ministers, Karen Poniachick (Minister for Mining) and Clarisa Hardy (Minister for Social Affairs). In the field of sport, tennis player Nicolás Massú (gold medalist in Athens 2004 and former top-ten in the ATP rankings) has Jewish background. Many of the country's most important companies—particularly in the retail and commercial field—have been set up by Jews, for example, Gendelman and Hites (commercial retailers) and Rosen (Mattress and Bed Industries).

Costa Rica

The first Jews in Costa Rica were probably conversos, who arrived in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the 19th century Sephardic merchants from Curaçao, Jamaica, Panama and the Caribbean followed. They mostly lived in Central Valley and were soon assimilated into the country's general society and eventually gave up Judaism altogether. A third wave of Jewish immigrants came before World War I and especially in the 1930s as Ashkenazi Jews fled a Europe threatened by Nazi Germany. Most of these immigrants came from the Polish town Żelechów. The term Polacos, which was originally a slur referring to these immigrants, has come to mean salesman in colloquial Costa Rican Spanish.

The country's first synagogue, the Orthodox Shaarei Zion was built in 1933 in the capital San José (located along 3rd Avenue and 6th Street). Along with a wave of nationalism, there was also some anti-Semitism in Costa Rica in the 1940s, but the co-existence between the Jews and the Catholic majority has only led to few problems. Recently there has been a fourth wave of Jewish immigration consisting primarily of American and Israeli expatriates retiring or doing business in the country. The Jewish community now consists of 2,500 to 3,000 people, most of them living in the capital.

The San José suburb of Rohrmoser has a distinct Jewish presence. A couple of synagogues are located here, as well as a kosher deli and restaurant. The Plaza Rohrmoser shopping center has the only kosher Burger King in the country. The Centro Israelita Sionista (Zionist Israeli Center) is a large Orthodox compound where a synagogue, library and museum are located.