History of the Jews in Argentina
Encyclopedia
The history of the Jews of Argentina goes back to the days of the Spanish Inquisition
and Portuguese Inquisition
, when Jews fleeing persecution settled in what is now Argentina
. Many of the Portuguese traders in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
were Jewish, but an organized Jewish community developed only after Argentina gained independence from Spain in 1810. At that time, Jews from France and other parts of Western Europe
began to settle in Argentina. The current Jewish population is 80% Ashkenazi. Argentina has the largest Jewish population of any country in Latin America.
(16th–19th century), assimilating into the general population. After Argentina emancipated from the Spanish Empire
, the General Assembly of 1813
officially abolished the Inquisition
. A second wave of Jewish immigration began in the mid-19th century, mostly from Western Europe
, especially France. In 1860, the first Jewish wedding was recorded in Buenos Aires. A minyan
was organized for High Holiday services a few years later, leading to the establishment of the Congregación Israelita de la República. In the late 19th century, immigrants fleeing poverty and pogrom
s in Russia and Eastern Europe settled in Argentina, availing themselves of its open-door immigration policy. These Jews became known as rusos, "Russians". In 1889, 824 Russian Jews arrived in Argentina on the S.S. Weser and became gauchos
(Argentine cowboys). They bought land and established a colony named Moiseville
. In dire economic straits, they appealed to the French Jewish philanthropist Baron Maurice de Hirsch, who founded the Jewish Colonization Association. In its heyday, the Association owned more than 600,000 hectares of land, populated by over 200,000 Jews. Between 1906 and 1912, some 13,000 Jews immigrated to Argentina every year, mostly from Europe, but also from Morocco
and the Ottoman Empire
. By 1920, more than 150,000 Jews were living in Argentina.
The number of Jews migrating to Argentina increased in the late 19th century due to the efforts of Baron Maurice de Hirsch. After the death of his son and heir, de Hirsch devoted himself to Jewish philanthropy and alleviating Jewish suffering in Eastern Europe
. He came up with a plan to bring Jews to Argentina as autonomous agricultural settlers. This plan meshed with Argentina's campaign to attract immigrants. The 1853 constitution guaranteed religious freedom, and the country had vast, unpopulated land reserves. Under President Domingo F. Sarmiento, a policy of mass immigration was introduced that coincided with the violent pogroms in Russia in 1881.
These Jewish agricultural settlements were established in the provinces of Buenos Aires
(Colonia Lapin
, Rivera
), Entre Ríos
(Basavilbaso
, San Gregorio, Villa Domínguez, Carmel, Ingeniero Sajaroff, Villa Clara, and Villaguay), and Santa Fe
(Moisés Ville
). In fact, the national census of 1895 indicated that of the 6,085 people who declared to be Jewish, 3,880 (about 64%) lived in Entre Ríos.
The Buenos Aires Jewish community was established in 1862, and held its first traditional Jewish wedding in 1868. The first synagogue was inaugurated in 1875.
The Ashkenazi Jews
from Eastern Europe
who settled in Argentina became known as "rusos" ("Russians") by the local population. Some settled in the major cities, but many acquired land through the Jewish Colonization Association
and established small agricultural colonies
("comunas") in the interior of the country, especially in the provinces of Santa Fe
and Entre Ríos
.
Jews in Argentina came to play an important role in Argentine society, but antisemitism reared its head from time to time. In January 1919 in Buenos Aires, pogrom
s fomented by the police as a response to a general strike targeted the Jews and destroyed their property. In the strike's aftermath civilian vigilante gangs (the Argentine Patriotic League
) went after agitators ("agitadores"), claiming "scores of victims", including "numerous Russian Jews who were falsely accused of masterminding a Communist conspiracy". "In 1939 half the owners and workers of small manufacturing plants were foreigners, many of them newly arrived Jewish refugees from Central Europe
".
Despite antisemitism and increasing xenophobia, Jews became involved in most sectors of Argentine society. Still, they were unable to work in the government or military and so many became farmers, peddlers, artisans and shopkeepers. Cultural and religious organizations flourished and a Yiddish press and theater opened in Buenos Aires, as well as a Jewish hospital and a number of Zionist organizations.
Juan Perón
's rise to power in 1946 worried many Jews. Though it was Juan Perón who, as Minister of War, eventually signed Argentina's declaration of war against the Axis Powers
, as a nationalist he had initially expressed sympathy for the Axis powers. He had also specifically expressed admiration for Benito Mussolini
. Peron introduced Catholic religious instruction in public schools and allowed Argentina to become a haven for fleeing Nazis. One notable fugitive was Adolf Eichmann
who lived in Argentina after World War II until 1960, when Israeli agents abducted him from a Buenos Aires suburb. Eichmann faced trial in Jerusalem, on April 1961. Since then, more than 45,000 Jews have migrated to Israel from Argentina. On the other hand, Perón also expressed sympathy for Jewish rights and established diplomatic relations with Israel
in 1949. Perón's government was also the first, in Argentina, to allow Jewish citizens to hold office. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/send-pdf.cgi?osu1039034580
Peron was overthrown in 1955, which was followed by another wave of antisemitism. In the 1950s and 60s, the Tacuara Nationalist Movement, a fascist
organization with political ties, began a series of antisemitic campaigns with street fights and vandalism of synagogues and Jewish cemeteries.
Argentina was under military rule between 1976 and 1983. During this period, Jews were increasingly targeted for kidnapping and torture by the ruling junta; about 2,000 known victims of state terrorism were Jews. According to the Jerusalem Post, the Israel
i government had a special agreement with the Argentine government to allow Jews arrested for political crimes to immigrate to Israel.
In 1983, Raúl Alfonsín
was democratically elected as president of Argentina. Alfonsín enjoyed the support of the Jewish population and placed many Jews in high positions.
Carlos Saul Menem was elected president in 1989, his Arab origin and support of Perón worried the Jews; however, he did not follow in Perón's footsteps. Menem appointed many Jews to his government, visited Israel a number of times, and offered to help mediate the Israeli-Arab peace process. After a Jewish cemetery was desecrated in Buenos Aires, Menem immediately expressed his outrage to the Jewish community and, within a week, apprehended those responsible.
President Menem also ordered the release of files relating to Argentina's role in serving as a haven for Nazi war criminals. A law against racism and antisemitism was passed in the Argentine parliament in 1988.
Despite Menem's sympathetic policies and a democratic regime, the Jews of Argentina were targets of two major terrorist attacks, both of which remain unsolved: the Israeli Embassy was bombed in March 1992, killing 29 people, and in July 1994 the Jewish community center
(AMIA) in Buenos Aires was bombed as well
, killing 85 people and wounding over 200. The community's archives were partially destroyed in the bombing and the event left many emotionally scarred. In 2005, an Argentine prosecutor said the AMIA bombing was carried out by a 21-year-old Lebanese
suicide bomber who belonged to Hezbollah. In 2006, Argentine Justice indicted seven high-ranking former Iranian officials and one senior Hezbollah member as suspects of being involved in the planning and execution of the AMIA bombing. In 2007, Interpol
ordered a red notice
to capture the Iranian fugitives. Since then, the Argentine government has request to Iran the extradition of its citizens accused for the attack in order to be judged by an Argentine or a foreign court, but Iran has refused.
During the economic crisis of 1999–2002, approximately 4400 Argentine Jews made aliyah
to Israel. Due to the economic situation several Jewish institutes such as schools, community centres, clubs and congregations merged.
A 2011 poll conducted by the Gino Germani Research Institute of the University of Buenos Aires
on behalf of the Anti-Defamation League
and Delegacion de Asociaciones Israelitas Argentinas
showed that a majority of Argentines held anti-semitic sentiments or prejudices. Of the 1,510 Argentines quizzed, 82% agreed that Jews are preoccupied with making money, 49% said that they "talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust", 68% said that they have "too much power in the business world", and 22% said that the Jews killed Jesus
. The majority of people interviewed also expressed belief that Jews are more loyal to Israel than their country of birth.
, Córdoba
and Rosario. Argentina's Jewish population is the largest Jewish community in Latin America, the third-largest in the Americas (after that of the United States and Canada), and the seventh-largest in the world (See Jewish population
). By law, the Jews are allowed two days of vacation on Rosh Hashanah
, Yom Kippur
, and the first two and last two days of Passover
.
In February 2009, Argentina expelled Richard Williamson, a British Roman Catholic Bishop. Williamson who headed a seminary near Buenos Aires was ordered to leave for 'concealing true activity' (he had entered the country as an employee of a non-governmental group, not a priest); the decision cited his Holocaust denial.
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition , commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition , was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the Medieval...
and Portuguese Inquisition
Portuguese Inquisition
The Portuguese Inquisition was formally established in Portugal in 1536 at the request of the King of Portugal, João III. Manuel I had asked for the installation of the Inquisition in 1515 to fulfill the commitment of marriage with Maria of Aragon, but it was only after his death that the Pope...
, when Jews fleeing persecution settled in what is now Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. Many of the Portuguese traders in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, , was the last and most short-lived Viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire in America.The Viceroyalty was established in 1776 out of several former Viceroyalty of Perú dependencies that mainly extended over the Río de la Plata basin, roughly the present day...
were Jewish, but an organized Jewish community developed only after Argentina gained independence from Spain in 1810. At that time, Jews from France and other parts of Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
began to settle in Argentina. The current Jewish population is 80% Ashkenazi. Argentina has the largest Jewish population of any country in Latin America.
Early history
Some Spanish conversos, or secret Jews, settled in Argentina during the Spanish colonial periodHistory of Argentina
The history of Argentina is divided by historians into four main parts: the pre-Columbian time, or early history , the colonial period , the independence wars and the early post-colonial period of the nation and the history of modern Argentina .The beginning of prehistory in the present territory of...
(16th–19th century), assimilating into the general population. After Argentina emancipated from the Spanish Empire
Argentine War of Independence
The Argentine War of Independence was fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown...
, the General Assembly of 1813
Asamblea del Año XIII
The Assembly of Year XIII was a meeting called by the Second Triumvirate governing the young republic of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata on October 1812....
officially abolished the Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
. A second wave of Jewish immigration began in the mid-19th century, mostly from Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
, especially France. In 1860, the first Jewish wedding was recorded in Buenos Aires. A minyan
Minyan
A minyan in Judaism refers to the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. According to many non-Orthodox streams of Judaism adult females count in the minyan....
was organized for High Holiday services a few years later, leading to the establishment of the Congregación Israelita de la República. In the late 19th century, immigrants fleeing poverty and pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
s in Russia and Eastern Europe settled in Argentina, availing themselves of its open-door immigration policy. These Jews became known as rusos, "Russians". In 1889, 824 Russian Jews arrived in Argentina on the S.S. Weser and became gauchos
Jewish gauchos
Jewish gauchos were Jewish immigrants who settled in fertile regions of Argentina in agricultural colonies established by the Jewish Colonization Association....
(Argentine cowboys). They bought land and established a colony named Moiseville
Moisés Ville
Moisés Ville is a small town in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina founded in 23 October 1889 by Eastern European and Russian Jews escaping pogroms and persecution...
. In dire economic straits, they appealed to the French Jewish philanthropist Baron Maurice de Hirsch, who founded the Jewish Colonization Association. In its heyday, the Association owned more than 600,000 hectares of land, populated by over 200,000 Jews. Between 1906 and 1912, some 13,000 Jews immigrated to Argentina every year, mostly from Europe, but also from Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. By 1920, more than 150,000 Jews were living in Argentina.
Agricultural settlement
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. He came up with a plan to bring Jews to Argentina as autonomous agricultural settlers. This plan meshed with Argentina's campaign to attract immigrants. The 1853 constitution guaranteed religious freedom, and the country had vast, unpopulated land reserves. Under President Domingo F. Sarmiento, a policy of mass immigration was introduced that coincided with the violent pogroms in Russia in 1881.
These Jewish agricultural settlements were established in the provinces of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
(Colonia Lapin
Colonia Lapin
Colonia Lapin is a settlement located near the town of Rivera in the southwest region of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the Municipality of Adolfo Alsina.- History :Jewish immigrants founded Colonia Lapin on November 6, 1919...
, Rivera
Rivera, Buenos Aires Province
Rivera is a settlement located near the town of Carhué in the southwest region of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the Municipality of Adolfo Alsina...
), Entre Ríos
Entre Ríos Province
Entre Ríos is a northeastern province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires , Corrientes and Santa Fe , and Uruguay in the east....
(Basavilbaso
Basavilbaso
Basavilbaso is a town in the center region of the province of Entre Ríos, Argentina, about from Concepción del Uruguay. It has about 9,400 inhabitants as per the . Locals often shorten the name to Basso....
, San Gregorio, Villa Domínguez, Carmel, Ingeniero Sajaroff, Villa Clara, and Villaguay), and Santa Fe
Santa Fe Province
The Invincible Province of Santa Fe, in Spanish Provincia Invencible de Santa Fe , is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco , Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Santiago del Estero...
(Moisés Ville
Moisés Ville
Moisés Ville is a small town in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina founded in 23 October 1889 by Eastern European and Russian Jews escaping pogroms and persecution...
). In fact, the national census of 1895 indicated that of the 6,085 people who declared to be Jewish, 3,880 (about 64%) lived in Entre Ríos.
Buenos Aires Jewish community
The Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
from Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
who settled in Argentina became known as "rusos" ("Russians") by the local population. Some settled in the major cities, but many acquired land through the Jewish Colonization Association
Jewish Colonization Association
The Jewish Colonization Association was created on September 11, 1891 by the Baron Maurice de Hirsch. Its aim was to facilitate the mass emigration of Jews from Russia and other Eastern European countries, by settling them in agricultural colonies on lands purchased by the committee, particularly...
and established small agricultural colonies
Agricultural colonies in Argentina
Agricultural colonies in Argentina were a demographically and economically important part of the evolution of the country. The Argentine government, faced with large areas of fertile land that were unpopulated or settled by aboriginal tribes , encouraged European immigration, welcoming settling...
("comunas") in the interior of the country, especially in the provinces of Santa Fe
Santa Fe Province
The Invincible Province of Santa Fe, in Spanish Provincia Invencible de Santa Fe , is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco , Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Santiago del Estero...
and Entre Ríos
Entre Ríos Province
Entre Ríos is a northeastern province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires , Corrientes and Santa Fe , and Uruguay in the east....
.
Jews in Argentina came to play an important role in Argentine society, but antisemitism reared its head from time to time. In January 1919 in Buenos Aires, pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
s fomented by the police as a response to a general strike targeted the Jews and destroyed their property. In the strike's aftermath civilian vigilante gangs (the Argentine Patriotic League
Argentine Patriotic League
The Argentine Patriotic League was a Nacionalista paramilitary group, officially created in Buenos Aires on January 16, 1919, during the Tragic week events. Presided over by Manuel Carlés, a professor at the Military College and the Escuela Superior de Guerra, it also counted among its members the...
) went after agitators ("agitadores"), claiming "scores of victims", including "numerous Russian Jews who were falsely accused of masterminding a Communist conspiracy". "In 1939 half the owners and workers of small manufacturing plants were foreigners, many of them newly arrived Jewish refugees from Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
".
Despite antisemitism and increasing xenophobia, Jews became involved in most sectors of Argentine society. Still, they were unable to work in the government or military and so many became farmers, peddlers, artisans and shopkeepers. Cultural and religious organizations flourished and a Yiddish press and theater opened in Buenos Aires, as well as a Jewish hospital and a number of Zionist organizations.
World War II, Holocaust and antisemitism
Argentina kept its doors open to Jewish immigration until 1938. After that, new regulations were imposed by the government and the flow was severely curtailed at the very moment when the Jews sought a safe haven from the Nazis.Juan Perón
Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...
's rise to power in 1946 worried many Jews. Though it was Juan Perón who, as Minister of War, eventually signed Argentina's declaration of war against the Axis Powers
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
, as a nationalist he had initially expressed sympathy for the Axis powers. He had also specifically expressed admiration for Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
. Peron introduced Catholic religious instruction in public schools and allowed Argentina to become a haven for fleeing Nazis. One notable fugitive was Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
who lived in Argentina after World War II until 1960, when Israeli agents abducted him from a Buenos Aires suburb. Eichmann faced trial in Jerusalem, on April 1961. Since then, more than 45,000 Jews have migrated to Israel from Argentina. On the other hand, Perón also expressed sympathy for Jewish rights and established diplomatic relations with Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in 1949. Perón's government was also the first, in Argentina, to allow Jewish citizens to hold office. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/send-pdf.cgi?osu1039034580
Peron was overthrown in 1955, which was followed by another wave of antisemitism. In the 1950s and 60s, the Tacuara Nationalist Movement, a fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
organization with political ties, began a series of antisemitic campaigns with street fights and vandalism of synagogues and Jewish cemeteries.
Argentina was under military rule between 1976 and 1983. During this period, Jews were increasingly targeted for kidnapping and torture by the ruling junta; about 2,000 known victims of state terrorism were Jews. According to the Jerusalem Post, the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i government had a special agreement with the Argentine government to allow Jews arrested for political crimes to immigrate to Israel.
The return to democracy and the AMIA terrorist attack
Raúl Alfonsín
Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín was an Argentine lawyer, politician and statesman, who served as the President of Argentina from December 10, 1983, to July 8, 1989. Alfonsín was the first democratically-elected president of Argentina following the military government known as the National Reorganization...
was democratically elected as president of Argentina. Alfonsín enjoyed the support of the Jewish population and placed many Jews in high positions.
Carlos Saul Menem was elected president in 1989, his Arab origin and support of Perón worried the Jews; however, he did not follow in Perón's footsteps. Menem appointed many Jews to his government, visited Israel a number of times, and offered to help mediate the Israeli-Arab peace process. After a Jewish cemetery was desecrated in Buenos Aires, Menem immediately expressed his outrage to the Jewish community and, within a week, apprehended those responsible.
President Menem also ordered the release of files relating to Argentina's role in serving as a haven for Nazi war criminals. A law against racism and antisemitism was passed in the Argentine parliament in 1988.
Despite Menem's sympathetic policies and a democratic regime, the Jews of Argentina were targets of two major terrorist attacks, both of which remain unsolved: the Israeli Embassy was bombed in March 1992, killing 29 people, and in July 1994 the Jewish community center
Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina
Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina is a Jewish Community Center located in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Established as Jevrá Kedushá in 1894, its mission was conceived to promote the well being and development of Jewish life in Argentina and to secure the continuity and values of the Jewish community...
(AMIA) in Buenos Aires was bombed as well
AMIA Bombing
The AMIA bombing was an attack on the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina building in Buenos Aires on July 18, 1994, that killed 85 people and injured hundreds. It was Argentina's deadliest bombing...
, killing 85 people and wounding over 200. The community's archives were partially destroyed in the bombing and the event left many emotionally scarred. In 2005, an Argentine prosecutor said the AMIA bombing was carried out by a 21-year-old Lebanese
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
suicide bomber who belonged to Hezbollah. In 2006, Argentine Justice indicted seven high-ranking former Iranian officials and one senior Hezbollah member as suspects of being involved in the planning and execution of the AMIA bombing. In 2007, Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
ordered a red notice
Red notice
An Interpol notice or international notice is issued by Interpol to share information between its members. There are seven types, six of which are known by their colour codes: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Black, Orange....
to capture the Iranian fugitives. Since then, the Argentine government has request to Iran the extradition of its citizens accused for the attack in order to be judged by an Argentine or a foreign court, but Iran has refused.
During the economic crisis of 1999–2002, approximately 4400 Argentine Jews made aliyah
Aliyah from Latin America in the 2000s
Following the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires, and in the wake of the 1999–2002 Argentine political and economic crisis, many Argentine Jews emigrated to Israel....
to Israel. Due to the economic situation several Jewish institutes such as schools, community centres, clubs and congregations merged.
A 2011 poll conducted by the Gino Germani Research Institute of the University of Buenos Aires
University of Buenos Aires
The University of Buenos Aires is the largest university in Argentina and the largest university by enrollment in Latin America. Founded on August 12, 1821 in the city of Buenos Aires, it consists of 13 faculties, 6 hospitals, 10 museums and is linked to 4 high schools: Colegio Nacional de Buenos...
on behalf of the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
and Delegacion de Asociaciones Israelitas Argentinas
DAIA
DAIA is the umbrella organization of Argentina's Jewish community. As such, it represents the community in official events and conducts its contacts with authorities....
showed that a majority of Argentines held anti-semitic sentiments or prejudices. Of the 1,510 Argentines quizzed, 82% agreed that Jews are preoccupied with making money, 49% said that they "talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust", 68% said that they have "too much power in the business world", and 22% said that the Jews killed Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
. The majority of people interviewed also expressed belief that Jews are more loyal to Israel than their country of birth.
Status
Today, approximately 250,000 Jews live in Argentina, down from 310,000 in the early 1960s. Most of Argentina's Jews live in Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Córdoba
Córdoba, Argentina
Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...
and Rosario. Argentina's Jewish population is the largest Jewish community in Latin America, the third-largest in the Americas (after that of the United States and Canada), and the seventh-largest in the world (See Jewish population
Jewish population
Jewish population refers to the number of Jews in the world. Precise figures are difficult to calculate because the definition of "Who is a Jew" is a source of controversy.-Total population:...
). By law, the Jews are allowed two days of vacation on Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...
, Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
, and the first two and last two days of Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
.
In February 2009, Argentina expelled Richard Williamson, a British Roman Catholic Bishop. Williamson who headed a seminary near Buenos Aires was ordered to leave for 'concealing true activity' (he had entered the country as an employee of a non-governmental group, not a priest); the decision cited his Holocaust denial.
Buenos Aires Province
- Carlos Casares
- Colonia LapinColonia LapinColonia Lapin is a settlement located near the town of Rivera in the southwest region of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the Municipality of Adolfo Alsina.- History :Jewish immigrants founded Colonia Lapin on November 6, 1919...
- Mauricio Hirsch
- Delfin Huergo
- Moctezuma
- RiveraRivera, Buenos Aires ProvinceRivera is a settlement located near the town of Carhué in the southwest region of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the Municipality of Adolfo Alsina...
- Smith
Entre Ríos Province
- Basavilbaso
- Bovril
- Clara
- General Campos
- La Clarita
- Pueblo Arrua
- San Salvador
- Ubajay
- Villa Dominguez
See also
- Religion in ArgentinaReligion in ArgentinaA majority of the population of Argentina is nominally Roman Catholic, however, a very significant fact is that 61.1% of Argentines said to be related to God "on their own way", 72.9% said to "never" or "rarely" attend ceremonies of worship....
- Next Year in ArgentinaNext Year in ArgentinaNext Year in Argentina is a 2005 documentary about diaspora Jews, who have either decided to remain in Argentina or move to Israel...
- a documentary about Jews in Argentina - History of the Jews in Latin AmericaHistory of the Jews in Latin AmericaThe history of the Jews in Latin America dates, according to some interpretations, back to Christopher Columbus and his first cross-Atlantic voyage on August 3, 1492, when he left Spain and eventually discovered the New World...
- Immigration to ArgentinaImmigration to ArgentinaImmigration in Argentina, can be divided in several major stages:* Spanish colonization starting in the 16th century, integrating the indigenous inhabitants ....
- Andinia PlanAndinia PlanAndinia Plan is an alleged plan to establish a Jewish state in parts of Argentina. The name and contents of the plan have wide currency in Argentine extreme right-wing circles, but no evidence of its actual existence has ever been brought up, making it an example of a conspiracy theory.This...
- Moisés VilleMoisés VilleMoisés Ville is a small town in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina founded in 23 October 1889 by Eastern European and Russian Jews escaping pogroms and persecution...
- Colonia LapinColonia LapinColonia Lapin is a settlement located near the town of Rivera in the southwest region of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the Municipality of Adolfo Alsina.- History :Jewish immigrants founded Colonia Lapin on November 6, 1919...
- Colegio TarbutColegio TarbutColegio Tarbut is a Jewish private school founded in 1961 in the city of Olivos, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.- Pedagogy :Colegio Tarbut is named after the Tarbut movement of humanistic Jewish education, and has much in common with that movement's curricular philosophy...
- Asociación Mutual Israelita ArgentinaAsociación Mutual Israelita ArgentinaAsociación Mutual Israelita Argentina is a Jewish Community Center located in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Established as Jevrá Kedushá in 1894, its mission was conceived to promote the well being and development of Jewish life in Argentina and to secure the continuity and values of the Jewish community...
- List of Argentine Jews
- Argentine-Israeli relations