History Of The Jews In Argentina

Posted on YouTube: November 20, 2013

An older video, but still good.

The number of Jews in Argentina used to be 300,000. Now it is roughly 180,000. However, Wikipedia says there are 260,000 in Argentina, if one allows for part-Jewish people, who may not be practicing, or may not be considered Jewish by Jewish Religious Law. For ex: A person with a Jewish father and Christian mother would not be considered Jewish by the rabbis, but may feel connected to the Jewish people. When that demographic is considered, the numbers go up much higher than 180,000.

The Jewish Virtual Library says:

Source: Argentina Jewish Virtual History Tour
Jewish Virtual Library

Argentina is the second largest nation in Latin America and boasts the largest Jewish community in the region, with more than 173,000 Jews (the seventh largest Jewish community in the world). From an open-door policy of immigration to the harboring of Nazi war criminals, Argentina’s Jews have faced periods of peaceful coexistence and periods of intense anti-Semitism.

Over the decades, there has been a massive immigration to Israel, starting under the dictatorship of the 1970’s, and later on – even after democracy was restored – because of economics.

Posted on YouTube: July 26, 2018

And Jews influenced the Argentina Tango.

Posted on YouTube: Jan 10, 2012

Historically, while antisemitism does exist in Argentina – it goes up and down through cycles – overall, Argentina has been one of the more welcoming countries in the world to the Jews, which is why it has the seventh largest Jewish population in the world.

The recent Gaza War may be changing that a bit.

November 2, 2023

But it is not all bad. The present (2025) President of Argentina, Javier Milei, is very friendly to Israel and the Jews. And that is Argentina’s curious mix of contradictions with the Jewish people.

So, Argentina remains in the balance.