Argentina is a very large country on the southeast of South America, running from the polar south to the tropical north. The population is very European in ancestry, with roughly half being pure-European in background, and another large section being mostly European in background.
It has a large Arab population (9±%), but which is intermarried and assimilated into the country’s larger demographic This is because it is heavily Maronite (Catholic) Lebanese who assimilate well.
Interestingly, Argentina has around 180,000 Jews – the seventh largest Jewish population in the world – and they can be politically active.
While a lot of Latin America is condemning Israel for the war in Gaza, Argentina has just elected a president who converted to Judaism, and is a fan of Israel.
Talk about contrasts.
So, the Jews of Latin America are holding their Maccabi games in Argentina.
(JTA) — With the Pan American Maccabi Games set to begin in Argentina next week, an Israeli delegation of more than 200 athletes was planning to join 5,000 Jewish participants from across the world who will compete in 30 sports.
But, as with practically every facet of Israeli society, Oct. 7 changed their plans.
Now a pared down group of 74 Israeli athletes will head to Argentina for the 15th edition of the international tournament. Forty-five of them live in communities close to the Gaza Strip, the area attacked on Oct. 7, according to a press release from the Maccabi World Union, the global governing body that puts on the quadrennial Maccabiah Games in Israel and other international tournaments.
What this means is that Latin America is split in its sympathies. Indeed, even countries are split in their sympathies.
Javier Milei is considered Argentina’s version of Donald Trump. He is very right wing, and very pro-Zionist. He plans to move the Argentina Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
And this election took place in the middle of the 2023 Gaza War?!
Though there are more Arabs in Argentina than Jews, but the Jewish demographic is not small (for a Latin American nation) and still very influential, while the Arab demographics in Argentina tilt to the pro-Western Lebanese Maronite (Catholic) stock. This would not have happened in Chile, where the Arab demographic tilts towards the Palestinian stock.
Another break from dealing with Latin Armerica’s Arab communities:
Most Latin American countries have small Jewish populations. Hence the effect of the Jewish community on local politics is usually minimal. Not so for Argentina.
ARGENTINA HAS THE SIXTH LARGEST COMMUNITY OF JEWS IN THE WORLD (Click Here)
In Argentina, the Jewish community was quite noteable.
Posted on YouTube: 2020
Even Juan Perón had a Jewish advisor for economics, José Ber Gelbard.
Juan Perón and José Ber Gelbard
To set the record straight, Perón was not a Nazi. He admired Mussolini’s fascist economics, but not necessarily Mussolini’s politics. And while Perón allowed some Nazis in to Argentina after World War 2, he did so chiefly to get their technical skills. Perón was not an anti-Semite himself, and he certainly could not have imposed Nazi racial policies on a Latin country … and he knew it.
The Jewish community in Argentina used to be around two percent (2%) of the population in the past. That compares roughly to the historical percentage of the Jewish community in the United States in the 1960s.
There was a massive flight of Jews during the time of the military junta (1976-83), but even then, a massive amount of Jews remained in Argentina.
With around 180,000 Jews today, most of whom live in the Buenos Aires area, the Jews still have a massive effect on Argentina’s culture as well.
Because of this, Argentina’s reaction to the 2023 Gaza War is muted — at least when compared to the histrionics seen in Chile, where the influential politicized community of Palestinian-Chileans (Chilestinos) can force government policies.
So, taking an aside from the present (2023) Gaza War, let’s take another look at Jewish Buenos Aires.
Posted on YouTube: 2021
Jews even had a remarkable influence on Argentina’s tango.
Posted on YouTube: 2009
There was the tragic bombing of the Jewish Center in 1994, but that was done by Iranians.
Overall, Argentina has been quite friendly to Jews. Yes, there were some bigots at times, but Argentina was friendly enough to attract a massive amount of Jewish immigrants to the country from Europe.
Posted on YouTube: August 14, 2023
(Click Here) – This restaurant is world famous!
Posted on YouTube: Oct 16, 2022
This Jewish factor counts in world affairs. Chile recalled its ambassador (Click Here) from Israel over issues concerning the 2023 Gaza War. Argentina did not.
So, who will decide in the contest between Arabs and Jews for the sympathies of Latin Americans?
The answer may surprise you.
In South America, it is the Evangelical Christians (who are usually Christian Zionist) who are starting to make their mark.
Posted on YouTube: May 15, 2023
The Evangelicals are growing fast in Latin America.
In Brazil, the population is 31% Evangelical.
In Guatemala, the population is 40% Evangelical.
In Honduras, the population is almost 40% Evangelical.
In Chile, the population is 18% Evangelical.
In Argentina, the population is 15% Evangelical.
In Chile, this is noticeable, as Palestinian-Chileans – who tend to be Eastern Christians or Roman Catholics – have complained about the Evangelicals. In Brazil, the former president, Bolsonaro, who was Evangelical, was very pro-Israel. True! He lost the last election, but under questionable circumstances. Pro-Israel feeling runs large in Brazil, even though it has roughly 15 million Arab-Brazilians.
In Honduras, when the Evangelicals hit 50%, it may not matter any longer what the powerful Palestinian-Hondurans think.
A lot of countries, who are pro-Palestine today, may shift their foreign policies very soon, as the Evangelical communities keeps growing, and very rapidly so.
Source: The Economist
April 5th, 2023
Marabá And Salvador
Evangelical Christianity is the fastest-growing religion in the region. Polls on religious beliefs vary widely, but around a fifth of Latin Americans identify as evangelicals, up from a tenth in 2002. In Guatemala and Honduras, they are set to overtake Roman Catholics as the dominant religion by 2030.
It is the Evangelicals who will decide this battle.
In the meantime, the Jews of Argentina are fascinating.
This was streamed live on YouTube: November 2, 2023
This is an Arab restaurant in the Patagonia section of Argentina, in the city of El Calafate, in the southwest section of the Santa Cruz province. The city has a population of 25,000.
This is very far south, approaching the polar regions. El Calafate is named after a yellow flow, and is near Argentina’s Glacier National Park.
The point is to show how ubiquitous Arab culture and food are in Latin America, so common that it can even be found in subpolar regions.
