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(short example)
VENEZUELA
By 1943, nearly 600 German Jews had entered the country, with several
hundred more becoming citizens after World War II. By 1950, the
community had grown to around 6,000 people, even in the face of
immigration restrictions. With the fall of dictator Perez Jimenez
in 1958, more than 1,000 Jews immigrated to Venezuela from Egypt,
Lebanon, Syria, Salonica, Turkey, and even from Israel. An unknown
number of Jews also immigrated from other Latin American countries,
which raised the size of the community to more than 15,000 Jews
by the 1970s.
The oldest surviving Jewish organization in Venezuela is the Asociacion
Israelita de Venezuela, which was founded in the 1920s by Sephardic
Jews of mostly North African origin. Located in Caracas, this organization
services around 800 families and maintains a synagogue with two
rabbis. Caracas also has a significant Ashkenazi population. Organizations
include the Union Israelita, Shomrei Shabbat, and the ultra-Orthodox
Rabinato de Venezuela. Also located in the capital is a Hasidic
congregation called Jabad Lubavitch de Venezuela. Stained Glass
Window at Jabad Lubavitch The community also has several active
Zionist organizations, the majority of them based in Caracas. The
Federacion de Asociaciones Israelitas de Venezuela, which is associated
with the World Jewish Congress, is the umbrella organization for
the Sephardic and Ashkenazic communities, as well as the various
Zionist groups. In addition to Zionist organizations such as the
Jewish National Fund and Keren Hayesod, Venezuela also hosts WIZO,
Maccabi events, and Zionst youth groups. |
