History of the Jews in Argentina

The history of the Jews in Argentina goes back to the early sixteenth century, following the expulsion of Jews from Spain. Sephardic Jews fleeing persecution immigrated with explorers and colonists to settle in what is now Argentina, in spite of being forbidden from travelling to the American colonies. In addition, many of the Portuguese traders in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata were Jewish. An organized Jewish community, however, did not develop until after Argentina gained independence from Spain in 1816. 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. Argentines of both Ashkenazi and Sephardic heritage have left their mark on all aspects of Argentine culture, including in areas such as cuisine.

Reflecting the composition of the later immigration waves, the current Jewish population is 80% Ashkenazi; while Sephardi and Mizrahi are a minority. 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. They emigrated to Israel, West Europe (especially Spain), and North America.

The community numbered about 400,000 after World War II, but the appeal of Israel and economic and cultural pressures at home led many to leave. Instability in Israel in the early 21st century has resulted in a modest reversal of the trend since 2003. During a major emigration wave in the 2000s, more than 10,000 Argentine Jews settled in Israel.

Some Spanish conversos, or secret Jews, settled in Argentina during the Spanish colonial period (16th–19th century), had assimilated into the Argentine population. After Argentina gained independence, the General Assembly of 1813 officially abolished the Inquisition. The second wave of Jewish immigration from Europe began in the mid-19th century, during revolutions and extensive social disruption. Much of the Great European immigration wave to Argentina came from Western Europe, especially Italy.

Argentine Jewish women played a vital role in their communities, supporting charities, synagogues, and libraries while also organizing community events such as weddings. 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, 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, a group of 824 Russian Jews arrived in Argentina on the S.S. Weser and became gauchos (Argentine cowboys). They bought land and established a colony named Moisesville. In dire economic straits, they appealed to the German Jewish philanthropist Baron Maurice de Hirsch, who founded the Jewish Colonization Association which helped manage the various colonies. In its heyday, the Association owned more than 600,000 hectares of land. 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.

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. This meshed with Argentina's campaign to attract immigrants. The 1853 constitution guaranteed religious freedom, and the country had vast, unpopulated land reserves. Under President Julio Argentino Roca, a policy of mass immigration was encouraged; it provided relief to refugees fleeing the violent pogroms in the Russian Empire from 1881 onwards.

Jewish agricultural settlements were established in the provinces of Buenos Aires (Lapin, Rivera), Entre Ríos (San Gregorio, Villa Domínguez, Carmel, Ingeniero Sajaroff, Villa Clara, and Villaguay), 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.