Benei Sión, also known as Sabatarios and Cabañistas in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, are an
ethno-religious
An ethnoreligious group (or an ethno-religious group) is a grouping of people who are unified by a common religious and ethnic background.
Furthermore, the term ethno-religious group, along with ethno-regional and ethno-linguistic groups, is a s ...
group that believe in the Iglesia del Nuevo Pacto (Church of the New Pact).
[Bargman, Daniel Fernando. 1994]
Entre el Cristianismo y el Judaísmo: La Iglesia Israelita del Nuevo Pacto
University of Buenos Aires
The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one o ...
. The group originated in Chile where it had by 1994 around 6000 members but is present since the early 1950s in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
via
chain migration
Chain migration is the social process by which immigrants from a particular area follow others from that area to a particular destination. The destination may be in another country or in a new location within the same country.
John S. MacDonal ...
where it had 3000 members by 1994.
[ It has been proposed that the group derives from ]Crypto-Jews
Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Jews" (origin from Greek ''kryptos'' – , 'hidden').
The term is especially applied historically to Sp ...
active in colonial Chile
In Chilean historiography, Colonial Chile ( es, link=no, La colonia) is the period from 1600 to 1810, beginning with the Destruction of the Seven Cities and ending with the onset of the Chilean War of Independence. During this time, the Chilean ...
.[ While originating in the ]Araucanía Region
The Araucanía ( ), La Araucanía Region ( es, Región de La Araucanía ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions, and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south. Its capital and largest city is Te ...
of Chile the group deny to be Mapuche
The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who sha ...
(Araucanian).[ One leader has been quoted saying "We are Jews and that's how we feel, because we have the same aspirations as the Jewish people".][
]
See also
* Amazonian Jews
Amazonian Jews ( pt, judeus da Amazônia; es, judíos de la Amazonia; he, יהודי האמזונס, translit=yehudei haAmazonas; lad, ג׳ודיוס די אמאזוניה, djudios de Amazonia) are the Jews of the Amazon basin, mainly descenda ...
* History of the Jews in Chile
The history of the Jews in Chile dates back to the arrival of Europeans to the country. Over time, Chile has received several contingents of Jewish immigrants. Currently, the Jewish community in Chile comes mainly from the migrations occur ...
* Subbotnik Jews
References
Christianity in Argentina
Christianity in Chile
Ethnic groups in Argentina
Ethnic groups in Chile
Groups claiming Jewish descent
Jewish Argentine history
Jewish Chilean history
Jewish Christianity
{{Argentina-stub