The Jews of Buenos Aires

By Barbara Kingstone

It came as no surprise that security at the Sinagoga de la Congregacion Israelita de la Republica Argentina at 785 Libertad in Buenos Aries, was impenetrable. After ringing the designate bell for the pre-arranged interview with the director of the synagogue, a bodiless voice from inside, asked who we were and why where we there.

The heavy door unlocked automatically. My husband and I were understandably, asked to show identification. So we handed our passports to the Spanish / Yiddish speaking doorman. Luckily my husband knows Yiddish. We were directed to the official office where we found Spanish speaking Doctora Rubinstein and an interpreter. Both were guarded with what they had to say about anti-Semitism in Argentina, in particular, Buenos Aires. But it is common knowledge that since the last bombing of the Israel Embassy in 1992 and another in 1994 of the Asociacion Mutua Israelita Argentina (AMIA), which left 86 people dead and raze the Jewish cultural center, there has been even more security. What rankles the Jewish community is that there has been no conclusion as to who did it. During the week we were in B.A., we frequently heard that the government had done nothing to further the investigation, much to the chagrin of the 200,000 Jewish living in this stately city.

Jews are not newcomers to this South American country. As far back as 1862 some Jews had gathered to see if they could build a community for themselves. At the time, only Askenazi Jewish had immigrated. Sephardim came later. The first hall was called the Jewish Community of Buenos Aires, then changed to Jewish Community of Argentinean Republic. Churches were the official place for registering births, marriages and deaths but finally in 1888, the group who didn’t consider this an option, registered everything through the synagogue. In 1897, a large synagogue was built (rebuilt in the 1940s keeping the original façade).

Much of the colonization of the Jews of Argentina has to be credited to German born, Baron Maurice Von Hirsh, a man with great business acumen who had amassed and inherited a great fortune. He also had a sense of integrity and generosity. His concern in the late 1800s, was about the fate of Jews from Eastern Europe and Russia. He recognized the oppression under which they lived. In 1891, he established the Jewish Colonization Association which “assisted and promoted the immigration of poor and needy Jews from any part of Europe or Asia”. He personally bought farming land and created agricultural co-operative colonies. It’s here that many came to re-construct their lives and became farmers, horse breeders and strangely enough, Jewish gauchos. Re-education and training centers were necessary especially for German Jews for whom farming and agriculture was not a career choice.

In Argentina alone, the Jewish colonization Association’s total area of land was 617,658 hectares. Schools, health services, cultural, religious and sports facilities were created in each unit. While my husband and I waited in a small ante room for the interview with Dra. Rubinstein, organ music and the sweetest voice of a young man came flowing out of the attached synagogue. He was soon to be Bar Mitzvahed. Not aware of the restrictions, we went into the sanctuary which has an entrance to the building where the administration offices and museum were located. Only afterwards, when I asked Dra. Rubinstein if I could return to get a better perspective of the interior, I was told politely, they would prefer us not to photograph too much on the premises. What we did see were magnificent stain glass windows and an architecturally beautiful hall featuring wood columns.

The congregation of 400 families, is very active and since it was just before Yom Kippur, all tickets for seats were gone and security was up. As we walked past the synagogue on Yom Kipper day, someone with a camera, in the park across the street, was about to take photos. Much to our astonishment, a young woman in an everyday dark suit, immediately confronted the photographers, asking if any photos had been taken of the front of the building. The concern is that reactionary groups may use these as identification for entries. Even in non-holiday times, this practice remains, hence no photos of the synagogue’s exterior enhances this article.

A few days later, we made an appointment to visit the Jewish Museum of Buenos Aires to see the Dr. Salvador Kibrick Collection, also housed in the same building complex. There Paulina, a very knowledgeable Portena (a native born) took great responsibility to show off each of the memorabilia which had been donated by Dr. Kibrick. When he donated his enormously important collection, the caveat was that a museum had to be built to house his accumulation. The Jewish Congregation of the Argentine Republic, agreed and the museum, opened in 1967, and was named after the first director, Dr. Kibrick.

“We see this as a way to preserve Jewish life and culture, an opportunity to show different geographic settlements in Argentina,” said Paulina. There are 400 objects on display which include ancient registration books from the 1800s containing the names of people from Eastern Europe, large old paper maps of the colonies, far too fragile to be repaired but were being prepared for photography as a keepsake, replicas synagogue windows from Toledo in Spain, depicting David’s psalms, engravings of a Seder by Bernard Piccard from the 1700s, hand embroidered on velvet Torah curtains from the first temple in Buenos Aires, ritual instruments, and an exquisite silver Etrog, a 16th century. The Torahs are from Morocco and Iraq. These are only part of the exhibition.

While we were in B .A., we were astonished to learn that in the huge and heavily gilded Cathedral, (90% of the population is Catholic), was a memorial to the Holocaust –unprecedented in the rest of the world. However, it was overrated. The entire exhibit consists of one large picture frame containing a collection of about 13 pieces of Hebrew text, which had been rescued from European Jewish communities. Unfortunately, its impact is lost in a dark badly lit corner, hung so high that it was too difficult to try to read the smallish print.

It only seemed fitting that to round out our impressions, we visited Casa Argentina. This non-profit organization, incorporating Christians, Jews and Moslems and since 1966, has promoted dialogue between nations and institutions. This is done through joint or solo programming with universities, foundations and diplomatic delegations.

We came away from Buenos Aires knowing what we already knew – there is anti-Semitism, but we certainly didn’t see any graffiti or obvious manifestations. Perhaps we must fact the reality that, as in other spots in the world, anti-Semitism is institutionalized. Some terrible situations just never are cured or go away, that what is below the surface of anti Jewish feelings in this majestic city, is often found in other places also. It’s important that the Jews of Argentina like the Jews everywhere else, keep a vigilant eye on the situation and continue to integrate without assimilating. All this said, Buenos Aires, is a great place to visit.