Jews of Argentina

One of the newest set of records that has come into my hands, is a collection of records for a family that left Western Europe and settled in Argentina. The history of this family is a parallel to the Jewish history of Argentina itself. Like this family, the Jewish history of Argentina goes back to the time of the Spanish Inquisition, when many Jews fleeing the persecution made their way to what we would now call Argentina.

While there were Jews in Argentina earlier, the first organized Jewish community came in to existence after 1810, when Independence was gained from Spain. From this time on the community began to grow and prosper. Some of the important dates in Argentina Jewish history include;

• In the middle part of the 1800's , Jews from places like France began to settle in places like Buenos Aires.
• In 1868, the first Jewish wedding was recorded in Buenos Aires.
• The first synagogue was established in 1875.
• The late 1800's saw immigration from Russia and Eastern Europe as people fled poverty and persecution.
• By 1920, over 150,000 Jews from places such as Morocco and the Ottoman Empire had made Argentina their home.
• The current Jewish population of Argentina is about 250,000 people, which would make it the largest Jewish community in Latin America.
  

When added the records of the Jews of Argentina will be found in The Jews of America database.