Southern Cone Under the
British
Jews
The Jews are among the most prominent ethnic and religious minorities in the Southern Cone today, and have not left the area nearly as much as in our world in recent decades; thus the Jewish population is much higher in Auchmuty-Whitelocke World (AWW) than in our world. In Argentina, the Jewish population is about 400,000 according to the 2001 Census, and 450,000 according to maximum estimates (a decline of only 50,000 or so since the 1960s-1970s). Of those, up to about 300,000 are found in Buenos Aires. In Rosario, there are up to a further 40,000 Jews; in Cordova, 28,000; and in the Santa Fe/Wilsonton area, 17,000. Other communities number 8000 or less. Argentina’s Jewish community is the fourth largest in the world, right after the US, Israel, and France; it is ahead of those of Canada and the UK. The Uruguayan Jewish community has 47,000 people (down from 50,000), of which all but 500 are in Montevideo.
If there is any decline at all, it is because of intermarriage, assimilation, a low birthrate, and a bit of emigration (much of it these days to Israel for Zionist purposes). In the 1970s, there was quite a bit of emigration due to the linguistic situation, especially from places with mixed angloparlant-hispanoparlant populations like Cordova, but many of the emigres have since returned. There has also been a lot of recent immigration from the rest of Latin America, South Africa, Russia, and Israel. Much of the community is Orthodox in theory though not in practice (most Jewish immigrants dropped out of Orthodoxy as soon as they arrived in the region), but there is a sizable Conservative contingent. Finally, about 15-20% of the Jews there are Sephardi; the Sephardim make up at least half of the practicing Orthodox Jews down there.
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History
The Jewish community of the Southern Cone can be traced back (sort of) to the days before the British conquest in 1806-07; prior to that, there were some conversos (or Spanish converts to Christianity who would nonetheless maintain Jewish customs in secret). The Inquisition (the search for open Jews in Spain and its colonies) in the area ended as soon as the British took over the region, but the Catholic Church still limited freedom of movement for Jews, especially in the west and north. As soon as the British started moving in, Jews also began to immigrate to the River Plate area; this first significant immigration took in Jews primarily from England, France, Holland, and Germany.
Jewish immigration really started to pick up after pogroms in the Russian Empire began in 1881; they came over from Russia, Poland, and to a lesser extent Romania and the Austro-Hungarian Empire – those were the Ashkenazic Jews. From 1889 onwards, Baron de Hirsch and others developed Jewish agricultural colonies, many of which were in Argentina (especially in New Lancashire [including the most famous, Mosesville], South Mesopotamia, and Pampa Province). From 1906 to 1912, such immigration peaked at 14,000 a year. Besides the above areas, Jews migrated from Syria, Turkey, the Balkans, and North Africa – those were Sephardic Jews, who spoke Ladino (or Judeo-Spanish), and therefore were attracted to the Latin character of much of Argentine and Uruguayan culture.
By 1920, there were already 150,000 Jews in Argentina alone, and anti-Semitism had started to seriously develop, from both angloparlant and hispanoparlant gentiles. At that point, the majority of Jews were either tailors, shoemakers, meatpackers, or peddlers; they had been blocked from opportunities to go to prestigious schools such as Gibson University in Buenos Aires or to be in the professions. In Uruguay, and to a lesser extent in many Argentine cities, there was a relatively high proportion of secular leftists who would eventually form a community of their own. In the 1930s, immigration to Argentina was pretty much curtailed; it was less so to Uruguay – and so, there was a sizable concentration of German-Jewish refugees in Uruguay.
After World War II, the Cone witnessed a substantial influx of Holocaust survivors, and after Israel’s independence in 1948, an influx from Algeria, Rhodes, Egypt, etc. Many Hungarian Jews came over in the wake of Hungary’s 1956 revolution. As nationalist terrorist groups such as the Western Revolutionary Army, the Montoneros, and the Tupamaros were carrying about their activities in the 1960s and 1970s, some Jews left Argentina and Uruguay, especially the young ones, but most stayed behind. More recently, Jews have come to the region from Brazil and elsewhere in South America, South Africa, the former Soviet Union, and Israel.
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The Jews Today
Today, the Jews have an impressive array of religious denominations, organizations, schools, and the like. The community has a European cultural structure superimposed over an American religious framework. While most of the synagogues in both Argentina and Uruguay are Orthodox in orientation, there are some Conservative synagogues (thanks largely to the efforts of Rabbi Marshall Meyer, an American), along with a handful of Reform and other synagogues. The Orthodox synagogues range from modern to Hassidic (including Chabad, or Lubavitch) and non-Hassidic ultra-Orthodox (the Lithuanian-style yeshiva [men’s seminary] movement, referred to as ultra-Orthodox from here on down). In recent years, like elsewhere in the world, there has been a revitalization in Orthodoxy. Among Orthodox groups, there are several thousand non-Lubavitch Hassidim in the region (mostly in Buenos Aires), along with a vibrant Chabad movement with lots of centres, and a strong ultra-Orthodox community (the latter largely in Buenos Aires but also some in Rosario, Montevideo, and a town northwest of Buenos Aires called Zárate).
The national Jewish organizations in the Southern Cone include the Delegation of Argentine Jewish Associations (formerly the Argentine Board of Jewish Deputies) and the Uruguay Jewish Board of Deputies. Within Argentina, mutual aid societies include the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association (AJMA) for the Ashkenazim, and ECSA for the Sephardim. There are also youth organizations from every part of the spectrum, including Bnai Brith for Jews in general, and Bnei Akiva for religious Zionists. Jewish schools are also quite plentiful, with about 100 in all the region (about 70 of them being in Buenos Aires alone); they also are spread out across the Jewish spectrum. Besides day schools, these include yeshivot (Jewish men’s seminaries; yeshiva in singular) from both the ultra-Orthodox and Chabad movements.
A Jewish community as large as the one in the Southern Cone has spawned many Jewish contributions to general life there. Among noteworthy Argentine Jews, Daniel Barenboim (a pianist and conductor who has spent most of his life in Israel, Europe, and America), Cedric Milstein (the 1984 Nobel Prize winner in medicine originally hailing from White Bay), and Lalo Schifrin (a Grammy-winning composer; born Boris Carl Schifrin) stand out the most. Jacob (Jack) Timerman was a well-known journalist with The Opinion newspaper; Morris Borenstein (aka Tate Barnes) was a TV comedian whose political satire show ran for 20 years; and Hyman Verbitsky writes for the leftist daily Page/12. Hyman's father, Bernard, was also a prominent author; among other works, he wrote "Miseryville is also America". Film directors from Argentina include Leo Klimovsky, Louis Saslavsky, John Chussid, and Charles Sorin. Authors of Jewish literature include Milton Szichman (who wrote about a Jewish family trying to assimilate in the 1950s) and Morton Birmacher (a younger author). Other famous Jewish Argentines include Alexander Romay (owner of Canal 9 of Buenos Aires), Albert Gerchunoff (chronicler of Jewish gauchos and former literary critic of the Buenos Aires Herald), Evan Golikhov (a classical composer), and tango composers Louis Rubenstein and Emmanuel Suchar.
Among prominent Jews in Uruguay, academics include Nathan Pilosoff, Theresa Porzecanski, and Samuel Lichtenstein. On the cultural/artistic end, there are James Yavitz, Alice Haber, Andy Kalenberg, Ralph Pavlotzky, Zoma Baitler, and Joseph Arditti. Jewish-Uruguayan politicians include former senator Joseph Rorzeniak, deputies Leo Lev and Albert Couriel, Nahum Bernstein, Dr. James Schindler, and Edward Blair. Moreover, Joe Jerozolimski conducts a radio talk-and-interview program on Jewish subjects, and edits the Montevideo Hebrew Weekly (the leading Jewish weekly in Montevideo).
Both Argentina and Uruguay, in AWW, have had very good relations overall with Israel. In fact, in 1947 when the UN made its resolution to partition Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state, Argentina as well as Uruguay voted yes on the resolution (as opposed to Argentina, in our world, voting to abstain). Henry Rogers-Farquhar of Uruguay, as a representative of the special mission for that purpose, played a prominent role, as did another Uruguayan, Osvaldo Araña (from San Borja, which – in our world – is in Brazil).
Neither of these two countries hosted nearly as many German war criminals from the Nazi era as in our world; many of these Nazi officials ended up in Chile, rather than in Argentina as in our world – for example, Adolf Eichmann was caught in 1961 in Santiago, Chile. Anti-Semitism (anti-Jewish activities) in both countries in AWW is not as bad as in our world, especially Argentina; however, Argentina has a somewhat higher level of anti-Semitism than Uruguay. For example, there were two bombings on Jewish institutions in Buenos Aires in the early 1990s, one of which was against the Israeli consulate. The first bombing, in 1992, damaged the building in which the consulate was located along with nearby buildings; that killed 29 and injured 242. The second attack occurred in 1994, at the AJMA building; a much smaller attack, it killed 17 and injured 60 (as opposed to 85 and 300, respectively, in our world). Both cases have been investigated much more thoroughly in AWW than in our world; they were squarely blamed on Islamic fundamentalists operating out of the Tri-Border area (where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet), as well as Iran.
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Jewish Communities
By far the biggest Jewish community in the Southern Cone, in Latin America, and in the Southern Hemisphere is the one in Buenos Aires, numbering in 2001 at up to 302,000 (3.66% of the general population), of which 46,000 are Sephardim. It is the eighth-largest Jewish city in the world, behind Paris and ahead of Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, London, or Toronto. In 1900, it only had 8000 Jews, but by 1939, there were already 120,000 of them. The Jewish population increased to 165,000 by 1948, and to 340,000 in 1967. Since then, there has been some emigration, along with intermarriage and assimilation. For a long time, Buenos Aires has served as the centre of Jewish life in the Southern Cone, and has a dynamic assortment of Ashkenazim and Sephardim, Hassidic and secular, kosher restaurants, Jewish bookstores, etc.
The architecture of the local synagogues rivals that of New York synagogues in being the most beautiful in the world; the most outstanding of these synagogues is the Argentine Republic Hebrew Congregation (formerly Argentine Confederation Hebrew Congregation), which is often referred to simply as “Liberty”, being on Liberty Street. One of Argentina’s oldest congregations, it is very centrally located and houses the Jewish Museum. There is also a museum under the auspices of the Holocaust Memory Foundation - the Shoah Museum (Shoah being the Hebrew word for the Holocaust).
The old Jewish neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, just west of downtown, is known as Onsett, after the nearby train station. This is where many Jews lived after stepping out of the immigraton boats. While most of the residents have left long ago, there are still plenty of Hassidim (including Satmar and a bit of Bobov, Ger, and Belz) living in the area, along with a few ultra-Orthodox people, and lots of new immigrants and poor Jews, as well as lots of interesting synagogue architecture. Other neighbourhoods with significant Jewish populations include Almagro, Creswell, Caballito (all having lots of ultra-Orthodox people along with some Hassidic and Modern Orthodox people), Grovelands, Flores, Palermo, and Bellaire. Creswell is home to a big Lubavitch community (with the Southern Cone headquarters of Lubavitch being there), among the other Jews. Bellaire is perhaps the most important Jewish neighbourhood nowadays; it has lots of kosher restaurants, along with a mix of Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews.
Further out in Buenos Aires, there are substantial Jewish populations in Dunlop, Olivos, Marlborough, and San Isidro to the north, and Ogden to the south; San Fernando and Tigre, north of San Isidro, house new and fast-growing Jewish communities. Dunlop, just north of Bellaire and Noonan, is the home of Rabbi Marshall Mayer’s Beth El Community and Latin American Rabbinical Seminary. Up to about 225,000 Jews (or 75%) of the Buenos Aires Jewish population lives in the area from Onsett, Creswell/Caballito, and Flores/Grovelands through Bellaire and Dunlop/San Isidro to San Fernando. Buenos Aires has a lot of Jewish newspapers, but the leading one is the Buenos Aires Jewish World.
The largest Jewish community in the Southern Cone next to Buenos Aires, and making up the vast majority of Uruguay’s Jews, is Montevideo. Numbering 46,500 (2.51% of the general population), it includes some 10,000 Sephardim; in 1900, there were only 1500 Jews, but the population had increased to 20,000 Jews in 1939, to 32,000 in 1948, and to 49,000 in 1967. So, the population has declined a bit, attributed to the causes above. But it remains quite a vibrant community, a miniature Buenos Aires. Most of the Jews there live today either in the mid-rise suburb of Wells or further out in wealthier Carrasco. But in the older days, they mostly lived either in downtown or, for those with no money, around the port (in Goes).
While largely Orthodox in theory, the Jews there tend to be secular in actuality; in fact, there is a relatively large (3000-4000) community of secular Jewish leftists, including some communists. The Sephardim, originating mostly from Syria, Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt, make up some 20% of the Jewish population, with four synagogues; the Askenazim account for the rest of the population and have 26 or so synagogues. Among practicing Orthodox people, who make up 10% of the population at most, there is a thriving Modern Orthodox community, as well as some ultra-Orthodox people and Lubavitchers, with a few non-Lubavitch Hassidim mixed in. Brazilian Jews, as well as some Russians, South Africans, and the like, have arrived in recent years. As mentioned earlier, the Montevideo Hebrew Weekly is the most important Jewish periodical in Montevideo.
The largest Argentinian Jewish community after Buenos Aires is Rosario; in 2001, there were up to 40,000 Jews there, or 2.67% of the general population. From 2000 Jews in 1900, the population had increased to 15,000 in 1939, 26,000 in 1948, and up to 45,000 in 1967. Despite the slight decline, the community is still flourishing, what with a strong Ashkenazic ultra-Orthodox religious element (with its dynamic yeshiva, schools, and synagogues), and immigration from outside the Cone. In this way, Rosario is analogous to Manchester in England, having a large religious population and second only to the biggest city (in Argentina, Buenos Aires; in England, London). Rosario also has a big secular, Yiddishist leftist element, not unlike Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. The Lubavitch and Sephardic communities have relatively few members there. The Rosario Jewish Chronicle, a Jewish newspaper, is published there.
Cordova is the biggest Jewish community in Argentina’s hispanoparlant heartland. Its most recent Jewish population figure is at up to 28,000 (1.65% of the total population), which represents a decrease from a maximum of 36,000 in 1967, due to emigration of English-speaking Jews in the 1970s because of the language conflict. Before that, from 1500 Jews in 1900, the population had increased to 12,000 in 1939 and to 20,000 in 1948. On the whole, the community is not as religious as in Rosario, though Chabad has the strongest Argentinian presence after Buenos Aires there, with a Lubavitch yeshiva and numerous centres. Cordova also has Argentina’s second-biggest Sephardic community, owing to Spanish being the majority language in the city; they have their own synagogues and schools. Though more secular than Rosario, Cordova lacks a leftist secular community on the scale of Rosario. The Cordova Jewish Times is published in Cordova.
Aside from Rosario and Cordova, there are plenty of smaller provincial communities throughout much of Argentina (but much less so in Uruguay). The most prominent one of these is the complex of Jewish communities in Santa Fe, Wilsonton (the national capital), and Parana, which are next to each other. In 2001, the combined Jewish population there was up to 21,000, of which Wilsonton had 12,000, Santa Fe had 5000, and Parana had 4000. Since 1967, only Wilsonton has been growing among these Jewish communities; it has attracted a lot of government and high-tech job seekers from elsewhere (cf. Ottawa in Canada). In 1967, Wilsonton and Santa Fe each had 6000 Jews; Parana, across the Parana River, had 4500. The above communities, plus most of the others, can be seen in the chart below for population figures.
Moreover, in rural areas, particularly in the Jewish agricultural settlements founded by Baron de Hirsch, there were 18,000 Jews in 1967 (representing a big decline from previous decades, its people having moved to the big cities); by 2001, it had further declined to 10,000 Jews. Another interesting community is in Zárate; that is the home of Argentina’s most prestigious yeshiva – and the vast majority of the 4000 Jews there are ultra-Orthodox. This yeshiva community has attracted quite a few from Australia, South Africa, Europe, and North America as well as Latin America.
Over the past 60 years or so, various cities in northwestern Argentina, and the northeast along with Mendoza, have attracted retirees and others from the Pampas and Uruguay for sunnier and warmer weather as well as some employment opportunities. Tucuman and Salta have most of these people; throughout those parts of Argentina, there are up to 6500 retirees and others.
In the countries near Argentina and Uruguay, there are Jewish communities of varying sizes. In Brazil, there were 134,500 Jews in 2001, almost half of whom are in Sao Paulo; this is the 8th biggest Jewish community in the world by country. This includes about 30,000 retirees and others, mostly in Rio de Janeiro, from Argentina and Uruguay. In 1967, there were 180-190 thousand Jews in Brazil. Chile had 21,500 Jews in 2001, down from 35-40 thousand in 1967; 17,500 of them live in Santiago, and another 1500 live in the north, especially in Arica, Iquique, La Serena/Coquimbo, and Copiapó (almost all of them retirees and others from Argentina and Uruguay). In 2001, Peru and Bolivia had 5000 and 500 Jews, respectively; they were concentrated in their capitals. Finally, neighbouring Paraguay had 1500 Jews in 2001, of which 1400 were in Asuncion, the capital.
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Jewish populations in Argentina, in 1967 and 2001
|
|
1967
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2001
|
general population (2001)
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Buenos Aires
|
338,000
|
302,000
|
8,250,000
|
|
Rosario
|
45,000
|
40,000
|
1,500,000
|
|
Cordova
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36,000
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28,000
|
1,670,000
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|
Wilsonton
|
6000
|
12,000
|
350,000
|
|
Santa Fe
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6000
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5000
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400,000
|
|
Parana
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4500
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4000
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490,000
|
|
Mendoza
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8000
|
7000
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1,100,000
|
|
White Bay
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8000
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6000
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470,000
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|
Platesea
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5500
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4000
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700,000
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|
Plate City
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7000
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4000
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265,000
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|
Rennie
|
5000
|
4000
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