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Some Spanish [[conversos]], or secret Jews, settled in Argentina during the [[Colonial Argentina|Spanish colonial period]] (16th–19th century), where they generally assimilated into the general population.<ref name=vjht/> After [[Argentine War of Independence|Argentina gained independence]], the [[Asamblea del Año XIII|General Assembly of 1813]] officially abolished the [[Inquisition]]. A second wave of Jewish immigration began in the mid-19th century, during revolutions in Europe that created extensive social disruption. Much of the [[Great European immigration wave to Argentina]] came from Western Europe, especially France.
Some Spanish [[conversos]], or secret Jews, settled in Argentina during the [[Colonial Argentina|Spanish colonial period]] (16th–19th century), where they generally assimilated into the general population.<ref name=vjht/> After [[Argentine War of Independence|Argentina gained independence]], the [[Asamblea del Año XIII|General Assembly of 1813]] officially abolished the [[Inquisition]]. A second wave of Jewish immigration began in the mid-19th century, during revolutions in Europe that created extensive social disruption. Much of the [[Great European immigration wave to Argentina]] came from Western Europe, especially France.


In 1860, the first Jewish wedding was recorded in Buenos Aires.<ref name=vjht/> 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, Ashkenazi immigrants fleeing poverty and [[pogrom]]s in Russia and Eastern Europe settled in Argentina, attracted by 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 [[Jewish gauchos|gauchos]] (Argentine cowboys). They bought land and established a colony named [[Moisés Ville|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 more than 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.<ref name=vjht/>
In 1860, the first Jewish wedding was recorded in Buenos Aires.<ref name=vjht/> 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, Ashkenazi immigrants fleeing poverty and [[pogrom]]s in Russia and Eastern Europe settled in Argentina, attracted by 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 [[Jewish gauchos|gauchos]] (Argentine cowboys). They bought land and established a colony named [[Moisés Ville|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 more than 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.<ref name=vjht/>


==Agricultural settlement==
==Agricultural settlement==

Revision as of 20:16, 14 April 2013

Argentine Jews
José Ber Gelbard Lalo Schifrin Jorge Guinzburg File:TatoBores.jpg File:Jaime Yankelevich.jpg
Notable Argentine Jews:
José Ber Gelbard · Lalo Schifrin · Jorge Guinzburg · Héctor Timerman · Bernardo Kliksberg · Pepe Soriano · José Pekerman · Daniel Barenboim · Tato Bores · Jorge Telerman · Marcos Aguinis · Jaime Yankelevich
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Predominantly in Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Province, Córdoba Province, Santa Fe Province, and Entre Ríos Province
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The history of the Jews of Argentina goes back to the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, following the Jewish expulsion from Spain. Sephardi Jews fleeing persecution immigrated with explorers and colonists to settle in what is now Argentina.[4] In addition, many of the Portuguese traders in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata were Jewish. An organized Jewish community did not develop until 1810, however, after Argentina gained independence from Spain. By mid-century, Jews from France and other parts of Western Europe, fleeing the social and economic disruptions of revolutions, began to settle in Argentina.[4][5]

Reflecting the composition of the later immigration waves, the current Jewish population is 80% Ashkenazi; Sephardi or Mizrahi are a minority.[6] Argentina has the largest Jewish population of any country in Latin America, although numerous Jews left during the 1970s and 1980s to escape the repression of the military junta; some emigrated to Spain, other European nations, or North America.[4]

Early history

Some Spanish conversos, or secret Jews, settled in Argentina during the Spanish colonial period (16th–19th century), where they generally assimilated into the general population.[4] After Argentina gained independence, the General Assembly of 1813 officially abolished the Inquisition. A second wave of Jewish immigration began in the mid-19th century, during revolutions in Europe that created extensive social disruption. Much of the Great European immigration wave to Argentina came from Western Europe, especially France.

In 1860, the first Jewish wedding was recorded in Buenos Aires.[4] 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, Ashkenazi immigrants fleeing poverty and pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe settled in Argentina, attracted by 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 more than 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.[4]

Agricultural settlement

Baron Maurice de Hirsch (1831–1896)

After the death of his son and heir, de Hirsch devoted himself to Jewish philanthropy and alleviating Jewish suffering in Eastern Europe. He developed a plan to bring Jews to Argentina as autonomous agricultural settlers.[7] 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 encouraged; it provided relief to refugees fleeing the violent pogroms in the Russian Empire in 1881.[7]

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),[8] and Santa Fe (Moisés Ville). The national census of 1895 recorded that, of the 6,085 people who identified as Jewish, 3,880 (about 64%) lived in Entre Ríos.[9]

Despite antisemitism and increasing xenophobia, Jews became involved in most sectors of Argentine society. Many settled in cities, especially Buenos Aires. As they were prohibited from positions in the government or military, many became farmers, peddlers, artisans and shopkeepers.

Buenos Aires Jewish community

Sephardic Temple, Barracas district, Buenos Aires

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.[10] The Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe who settled in Argentina were called rusos (Russians) by the local population.[4]

In January 1919 in Buenos Aires, during a general strike, the police fomented pogroms that targeted Jews and destroyed their property.[4] In the strike's aftermath, civilian vigilante gangs (the Argentine Patriotic League) went after so-called agitators (agitadores), and killed or wounded "scores of victims", including "numerous Russian Jews who were falsely accused of masterminding a Communist conspiracy".[11]

European Jews continued to immigrate to Argentina, including during the Great Depression of the 1930s and to escape increasing Nazi persecutiion. "In 1939 half the owners and workers of small manufacturing plants were foreigners, many of them newly arrived Jewish refugees from Central Europe".[12]

Jewish cultural and religious organizations flourished in the cities; a Yiddish press and theatre opened in Buenos Aires, as well as a Jewish hospital and a number of Zionist organizations.

World War II and anti-semitism

Argentina kept its doors open to Jewish immigration until 1938, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazis in Germany began to take more actions against Jews, and tensions rose across Europe in preparation for war. The government imposed new regulations on immigration; it was severely curtailed at a time of increasing persecution of Jews and the outbreak of World War II, when Jews sought a safe haven from the Nazis.[10] Millions of Jews died in Europe during the Holocaust.

Juan Perón's rise to power in 1946 in Argentina after the war worried many Jews in the country. As Minister of War, he had signed Argentina's declaration of war against the Axis Powers, but as a nationalist, he had earlier expressed sympathy for them. He was known to admire the Italian Fascist leader, Benito Mussolini. Peron introduced Catholic religious instruction in Argentine public schools; he allowed Nazis' fleeing prosecution in Germany to immigrate to the country. Perón also expressed sympathy for Jewish rights and in 1949 established diplomatic relations with Israel.[4] Perón's government was the first in Argentina to allow Jewish citizens to hold office.[13]

Among the most notable Nazis who immigrated to Argentina was Adolf Eichmann, a high-ranking official who had supervised the death camps; he lived near Buenos Aires from after World War II until 1960. Israeli agents tracked him down and abducted him from a Buenos Aires suburb to Israel for trial for war crimes. Eichmann faced trial in Jerusalem beginning in April 1961.[4]

Peron was overthrown in 1955, with the unrest unleashing a wave of antisemitism. Since then, more than 45,000 Jews have migrated to Israel from Argentina.[4] Others have migrated to Europe and other destinations. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Tacuara Nationalist Movement, a fascist organization with political ties, began a series of anti-semitic campaigns. They encouraged street fights against Jews, and vandalism of synagogues and Jewish cemeteries.[14]

Between 1976 and 1983, Argentina was ruled by a military junta, that oppressed many and "disappeared" countless victims. During this period, the junta targeted Jews who opposed them for kidnapping, torture and executions; about 2,000 known victims of state terrorism were Jews.[15][16] According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel had a special agreement with the Argentine government to allow Jews arrested for political crimes to immigrate to Israel.[17] Jews also emigrated to Spain, where they found more tolerant conditions.

During the 1982 Falklands War, around 250 Jewish soldiers served in the Falkland Islands and strategic points in Patagonia. During their service, they suffered anti-semitic attacks by officers. The Argentine government allowed five rabbis to visit them: these were the only chaplains permitted to accompany the Argentine Army during the conflict. They are the only non-Catholic chaplains ever permitted to serve. According to the author Hernán Dobry, the rabbis were permitted to visit Jewish soldiers because Argentina had been buying arms from Israel, and did not want to risk the relationship "for the sake of five rabbis". During the war, Jewish soldiers confided in the rabbis, telling them about anti-semitic insults.[18]

Return to democracy and terrorist attacks

Central Synagogue of Buenos Aires

In 1983, Raúl Alfonsín was democratically elected as president of Argentina. Alfonsín enjoyed the support of the Jewish population and appointed many Jews in high positions.

When Carlos Saul Menem was elected president in 1989, his Arab origin and previous support of Perón worried the Jews, but he proved to be a more tolerant leader. 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. Within a week, his government had 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. In 1988 the Argentine parliament passed a law against racism and antisemitism.

In the 1990s, two major terrorist attacks in Argentina killed and wounded numerous Jews. Neither has been solved. In March 1992, the Israeli Embassy was bombed, killing 29 people. This likely reflected international tensions between Israel and Arabs, including Palestinians.

In July 1994, the Jewish community center (AMIA) in Buenos Aires was bombed, killing 85 people and wounding more than 200. The community's archives were partially destroyed in the bombing. 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, charged with participating in the planning and execution of the AMIA bombing.[19][20][21][22] In 2007, Interpol ordered a red notice to capture the Iranian fugitives.[23] Since then, the Argentine government has requested that Iran extradite the Iranian citizens accused for the attack in order to be judged by an Argentine or a foreign court,[24] but Iran has refused.[25][26]

During the economic crisis of 1999–2002, approximately 4,400 Argentine Jews made aliyah to Israel.[27] Following the 2003 economic recovery and subsequent growth, Argentine Jews continued immigrating, though in smaller numbers, and some returned to Argentina. Altogether, some 10,000 Argentine Jews immigrated to Israel during the 2000s. Due to the economic situation, several Jewish institutes such as schools, community centres, clubs and congregations merged.[28]

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 surveyed, 82% agreed with statements "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.[29]

In recent years there were number of antisemitic incidents in Argentina: on 19 October 2012, a discriminatory and anti-Semitic message, which included Nazi references, was painted on the front of a public school in Concordia, Entre Rios. Another incident took place in Mendoza on 6 September 2012 when during a basketball game the father of the player Andres Berman was physically assaulted after he criticized anti-Semitic statements by fans of an opposing team.[30]

Status

Today, approximately 250,000 Jews live in Argentina,[2][3][6] down from 310,000 in the early 1960s.[6] Most of Argentina's Jews live in Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Rosario.[31] Argentina's Jewish population is the largest in Latin America, and the third-largest in the Americas (after that of the United States and Canada). It is the seventh-largest in the world.[2][6] (See Jewish population) The government has recognized major Jewish holidays: it authorizes Jews to have two days of vacation each for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the first two and last two days of Passover.[32]

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 also cited his denial of the Holocaust.[33][34]

Historic Jewish colonies in Argentina

(source:[35])

Buenos Aires province

Entre Ríos province

  • Basavilbaso
  • Bovril
  • Clara
  • General Campos
  • La Clarita
  • Pueblo Arrua
  • San Salvador
  • Ubajay
  • Villa Dominguez

Santa Fe province

  • Capivara
  • Ceres
  • Las Plameras
  • Luis Palacios
  • Moisesville
  • Virginia

La Pampa province

Santiago del Estero province

  • Colonia Dora

See also

References

  1. ^ Annual Assessment (PDF), Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (Jewish Agency for Israel), 2007, p. 15, based on Annual Assessment 2007. Vol. 106. American Jewish Committee. 2006.
  2. ^ a b c "The Jewish People: Annual Assessment", Policy Planning Institute, 2007
  3. ^ a b United Jewish Communities; Global Jewish Populations
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Weiner, Rebecca. "The Virtual Jewish History Tour – Argentina". Retrieved 9 January 2008.
  5. ^ "Americas – Argentina; History". American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
  6. ^ a b c d LeElef, Ner. "World Jewish Population". Retrieved 9 January 2008.
  7. ^ a b Haim Avni (1991). Argentina and the Jews: A History of Jewish Immigration. University of Alabama Press. ISBN 0-8173-0554-8.
  8. ^ Template:Sp icon Circuito Histórico de las Colonias Judías
  9. ^ Jewish Virtual Library: Entre Ríos
  10. ^ a b Mario Diament, "Argentina & Jews reveals little-known history," Miami Herald, 1991
  11. ^ Rock, David. Argentina, 1516–1987: from Spanish Colonization to Alfonsín, University of California Press, 1987, p. 202.
  12. ^ Rock (1987), Argentina, 1516–1987, p. 233
  13. ^ [1], Ohio University
  14. ^ Template:Es icon Tacuara salió a la calle, Página/12, 15 May 2005
  15. ^ "Los desaparecidos judíos". Nueva Sion. Fundación Mordejai Anilevich. 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2010. [dead link‍]
  16. ^ Huberman, Ariana (2006). Memoria y representación: configuraciones culturales y literarias en el imaginario judío latinoamericano. Rosario: Beatriz Viterbo Editora. pp. 66/70. ISBN 950–845–187–4. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ [2], Jewish Virtual Library
  18. ^ "How five Argentinian rabbis helped Jewish soldiers during the war", Jewish Chronicle, 3 May 2012
  19. ^ Picture of the fugitives
  20. ^ "Iran charged over Argentina bomb". BBC news. 25 October 2006. Retrieved 25 October 2006.
  21. ^ "Iran, Hezbollah charged in 1994 Argentine bombing". Daily Jang. 25 October 2006. Archived from the original on 1 September 2007. Retrieved 25 October 2006.
  22. ^ Wiesenthal Center Urges Interpol's Help To Bring Former Iranian President Before The Bar Of Justice For AMIA Mass Murder In Argentina Wiesenthal Center. 10 November 2006
  23. ^ AMIA: Interpol ratifica arresto de iraníes BBC. 7 November 2007
  24. ^ Fuerte reclamo de Cristina Kirchner al presidente iraní por la AMIA La Nación. 23 September 2009
  25. ^ Irán acusa a Argentina de injerencia El Universo. 23 August 2009
  26. ^ "AMIA: duro rechazo iraní a una propuesta del Gobierno", La Nación, 19 October 2010
  27. ^ Argentina Status Report on Aliyah
  28. ^ "Faced With Little Economic Choice, Argentine Jewish Institutions Merge", United Jewish Communities, 30 October 2000
  29. ^ [3], JPost
  30. ^ [4], Adl
  31. ^ http://www.jdc.org/p_amer_arg_pop.html
  32. ^ Fiestas judías no laborables – Edición Nacional
  33. ^ "Argentina expels Catholic bishop who questions Holocaust", The Guardian, 20 February 2009
  34. ^ "Jewish group hails Argentina’s decision to order expulsion of negationist priest", European Jewish Press, 23 February 2009
  35. ^ "Jewish Colonization Association Colonies in Argentina", European Jewish Press, 23 February 2009
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