Buenos Aires: Jewish Edition

This morning we were picked up at our apartment by Salito, a BA native, who is also Jewish and has been leading tours about Jewish BA for about 15 years. We spent the next four hours being regaled with stories and sights about the history of Jews in BA, and Argentina.

Jewish migration to Argentina began, in earnest, around 1890. A Jewish banker and businessman, named Baron Maurice de Hersh, founded the Jewish Colonization Association, and moved Jews from Eastern Europe to Argentina. He paid their travel costs, settled them on land in the Pampas, and set them up to be farmers. After 5 years as a farmer, they were required to begin repaying the cost of travel and money expended to purchase the land. His theory was that if Jews were given land, they would become attached to their new homeland, and would settle down, rather than moving from place to place when the difficult times struck. Given the vast history of Jews as successful farmers, what could possible go wrong? While there some men who became Jewish gauchos (cowboys), the majority of the immigrants were completely unable to make it as farmers, and moved to the cities where they became tailors, cobblers, etc. Nevertheless, between 1890 and 1938, the Jewish population of BA grew to almost 500,000 people. However, in 1938, as Jews were seeking shelter from the Nazis, Argentina closed its doors to any immigrant who was being persecuted by the Third Reich (this is the language of the memo issued in 1938), and Jewish immigration came to an effective end.

In the 1960s, as the dictatorships governed the country, Jews began to flee. Then, the tragedy of the desaparecidos (the disappeared) had a disproportionate impact upon the Jews, leading to another wave of Jews leaving. In 1992 and 1994, there were terrorist attacks on the Jewish community center, and the Israeli embassy, that left more than 100 people dead. This, of course, accelerated the flight of the Jews. And, the economic collapse of the 1990s and early 2000s, led even more Jews to leave. So, today, there are only 250,000 Jews in the entire country.

Salito told us about his family’s emigration to the country (he is the third generation in his family to live in Argentina). Both sets of grandparents came in the early 1900s, searching for a better life. His paternal grandparents spent 6 years crossing Europe, in search of passage to the Americas. And, when they couldn’t gain entrance to NYC, they figured that anyplace in America was better than Europe, and they were convinced to go to Argentina. They started out in a village about 300 miles from BA, where his grandfather found work as a tailor, although they had to travel to BA for the brit milah for his uncle. When it was time for religious education, his grandmother decided to they needed to live in a Jewish community, and moved to BA. His stories were both fascinating and charming.

Salito drove us around the Jewish neighborhood, pointing out Jewish stores, bookshops, bakeries, and community centers. We visited the new Jewish community center, and learned a great deal about the horrific bombing, as well as Jews in BA. Although the bombing occurred in 1994, and 85 people were killed (including many non-Jews), no one has ever been tried for the crime. Just two years earlier, the Israeli embassy was bombed, killing 29 more people. Again, no one has been brought to justice. On the 18th of each month people gather at the community center to commemorate the dead and demand justice (the bombing happened on July 18th) and each year people gather on the anniversary of the bombing of the embassy, also demanding justice. Salito shared a bunch of tragic stories about people who were killed in each of them bombing, because they had the misfortune to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

We also had a chance to visit on the of old synagogues, which was beautiful. Salito, and his father, had their bar mitzvahs in the temple. The temple, which has an aging population, is currently being led by a young rabbi, who actually invited women to leave the balconies and sit on the floor (albeit not in the first 10 rows). When some of the men complained, he told them that they could either embrace the changes, which would bring in more members, or the congregation would die. The rabbi is still around, and the congregation seems to be growing . . . .

In the afternoon we visited a museum and wandered around a bit. After some time at the apartment decompressing (and showering as it was sweltering), we headed out to dinner. We decided to go to Don Julio, a traditional parilla, in which the highlight of the meal is a big piece of meat. We had to wait quite awhile for a table. But, as the restaurant is no stranger to big crowds, it kept us happy by feeding us empanadas and pouring us champagne, which was lovely. We finally sat down for dinner around 10 pm, and ordered a couple of steaks to share — a rib eye and a sirloin. To say that they were delicious was an understatement. Perhaps I should say that the meat was like “buttah.” It was just fantastic, and the whole experience was topped off by our being able to sit outside, in the warm night air.

Although we were pretty full, Arie announced that another trip to Rapi Nui for ice cream was in the cards. How could we say no? We ate, we people-watched, and we headed home — full and happy.Read more