We had a free afternoon. Before our trip I was able to make arrangements with Gabe to have a private tour of Jewish Buenos Aires. In the late 19th century when my great grandparents left the Ukraine and Poland to come to America. Many Jews came to Argentina. For the same reason – antisemitism and pogroms. Gee amazing how history repeats itself.
Gabriel and Joel inside one of the Jewish synagogues. One side of Gabriels’ family came in the 19th c. Many of those Jews became Jewish Gauchos, farming the land northwest of Buenos Aires. The towns like Moiseville remain today with a synagogue building on the main street. There are probably no Jews left there. The descendants didn’t want to be farmers, they moved to the city and became merchants, lawyers and Drs.
The exterior of the Synagogue. There are many in town. The Jewish population is 300,000. This one is in the Ounce district which is still very much a Jewish neighborhood. Although, like everywhere else, the Jews move on to other neighborhoods or the suburbs.
A beautiful ornate synagogue. In the back there is a women’s balcony. These days this congregation is egalitarian. So the balcony doesn’t get much use.
I think there are 15 Torah scrolls here. Some are probably quite old. Some probably were brought by Holocaust survivors after WWII. The community here is very vibrant, there is a Rabbinic school. Most of the graduates go elsewhere, since Argentina can only support so many Rabbis.
Sorry this is such a fuzzy image, I was trying to be discrete. There were plenty of Orthodox Jews on the street. It is nice that unlike Europe, they can freely wear their religious garb. Although, it’s not like Buenos Aires hasn’t felt the affects of antisemitic terror.
There is a thriving textile business, similar to downtown Los Angeles. This one is still owned by Jews, notice the mezuzah up on the upper right corner. The sign requests – please don’t enter with food or drink. I saw other stores that are no longer owned by Jews and the new owners quickly removed the mezuzah, leaving a blank spot instead.
In 1992 a car bomb crashed into the Israeli embassy and destroyed the building killing about 25 people who were in the building. Today the location is a memorial and a pocket park. Kudos to Buenos Aires for doing this.
The section of the wall that was attached to the neighboring building remains. A stark reminder of a destroyed building. Btw, some of the companies that donated money for this effort are German companies that during WWII supported the Nazis. There is redemption, any by supporting this project they have shown that they have moved beyond the Nazis.
Two years later, in 1994, a car laden with explosives was parked in front of AMIA, the large Jewish community center. Sort of like the Jewish Federation here, except this building also housed a nursery school and other social programs. At 9:53 the car exploded killing 87 people, of all ages, not all Jewish. This mural is in memory of them. You can also see how today, there is a strong wall with barbed wire and an armed guard in front.
The names of the 87 are inscribed on the wall. I took this picture from the side. Despite the mural, they discourage photography. There is a real concern that this will be used for another attack. Which they should be, while we were there a Rabbi was viciously attacked in his home. Two Arabs entered Argentina with fake Israeli passports, hoping to commit an act of terror again. Luckily they were caught.
Opposite the Palace of Justice, aka the justice department is a small memorial to the 87 murdered at the AMIA. Today this is forgotten by almost everyone. What isn’t forgotten is that justice wasn’t served. We know that the Iranians were behind this attack, Israel knows. But Argentina prefers to ignore all that. At least they are making efforts to prevent future attacks on the Jewish population. Btw, it’s not only the Jews who have serious problems with the justice system. I guess it’s just the Jews who made a point of creating a monument that decries the injustice.
Governments, what can you do. On the other hand, a huge shout out to the Catholic Cathedral! The only one in the world that has a memorial to Jews. In 1997 Cardinal Antonio Quarracino, inaugurated this memorial. This memorial is for the Jews killed in the holocaust as well as the victims of both bombing in the 90s. The Cardinal is buried in this section of the Cathedral as well.
Above the plaque there these remnants of mostly Jewish prayer books that survived the Holocaust. Interesting to note that the one on top is Megilat Esther. Since we just celebrated Purim. There are pages from a Haggadah as well as from the Talmud.
This is the only Cathedral in the world that has such a memorial.
For all the problems, Argentina has been very good to it’s Jews. I don’t judge a country by it’s governments, its the people themselves. It was a pleasure to get a glimpse into a thriving community here. Oh the one thing we didn’t go see? The second kosher McDonalds. It is in a mall in the Ounce district, no need to stop for that. The first kosher McDonalds is in Jerusalem of course. Even New York doesn’t have one. So Viva Buenos Aires.
Leah