The Jewish Community of Argentina Argentina is the second largest nation in Lain America and boasts the largest Jewish community in the region (200,000 of its 35 million people). From an open door policy of immigration to the harboring of Nazi war criminals, Argentina’s Jews have faced period of peaceful coexistence and periods of intense anti-Semitism.Argentina’s Jews have numerous Jewish community organizations. The DIAI (Delegacion de Asociaciones Israelitas Argentinas) was founded in 1939 as the political arm of the Jewish community. The DIAI protects Jewish rights and represents the community in the government. Another organization, the AMIA, an Ashkenazic mutual-aid society, provides health and human services to Argentina’s Ashkenazi population.HistoryAfter the expulsion from Spain in 1492, conversos (or secret Jews) settled in Argentina. Most of these immigrants assimilated into the general population and, by the mid 1800's, few Jews were left in Argentina. Argentina gained its independence from Spain in 1810. Bernardino Rivadavia, Argentina’s first president, gave support to policies that promoted freedom of immigration and respect for human rights. In this atmosphere of tolerance, a second wave of Jewish immigration began in the mid-19th century with Jewish immigrants arriving from Western Europe, especially from France. In 1860, the first Jewish wedding was recorded in Buenos Aires. A couple of years later, a minyan met for the High Holiday services and, eventually, the minyan became the Congregacion Israelita de la Republica. In the late 19th century, a third wave of immigration fleeing poverty and pogroms in Russia, and other Eastern Europe countries, moved to Argentina because of its open door policy of immigration. These Jews became known as "Rusos" and became active in Argentine society. In 1889, 824 Russian Jews arrived in Argentina on the SS Weser and became gauchos (Argentine cowbo...
