Argentine Jews The history of the Jews in Argentina goes back to the early sixteenth century, following the Jewish expulsion from Spain. Sephardi Jews fleeing persecution immigrated with explorers and colonists to settle in what is now Argentina, in spite o ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

are immigrants and descendants of the immigrants of the Argentine Jewish community who now reside within the state of Israel. Argentine Jewish immigration to Israel has been, and still is, the largest and most significant migratory flow from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. This is because Argentina has one of the largest

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

communities in the world, the third largest in the Americas after those in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and seventh worldwide. Because of this, many Jewish Argentines are able to make ''

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

'' and become Israeli citizens through the

Law of Return The Law of Return ( he, חֹוק הַשְׁבוּת, ''ḥok ha-shvūt'') is an Israeli law, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews, people with one or more Jewish grandparent, and their spouses the right to relocate to Israel and acquire Isra ...

. The Argentine community in Israel is about 50,000 people, although some estimates put the figure at 70,000, making it one of the fastest-growing groups in the country.

History

Since the

establishment of the State of Israel The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel ( he, הכרזה על הקמת מדינת ישראל), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 ( 5 Iyar 5708) by David Ben-Gurion, the Executive ...

there has been an Argentine Jewish migratory flow to Israel although this flow has fluctuated over time. Argentina recognised the State of Israel on February 14, 1949, being one of the first countries to do so. In addition, Argentina has maintained long and stable relations with Israel. The South American nation was always opened to immigrants, and Jews were no exception to this except for a brief period when Jewish immigration was banned. Despite this, thousand of Jews entered Argentina and made it their home. It was not until the

1976 Argentine coup d'état The 1976 Argentine coup d'état was a right-wing coup d'état, coup that overthrew Isabel Perón as President of Argentina on 24 March 1976. A military junta was installed to replace her; this was headed by Lieutenant General Jorge Rafael Videl ...

when a large number of Jews fled the country in search of safety. The number of Argentine Jews emigrating to Israel greatly increased throughout the period of the

Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 a ...

. Many of them settled permanently in Israel while others returned to Argentina after the fall of the

junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by ...

. Many Jewish Argentines choose Israel as an alternative to settle due to political and economic instability that has rocked Argentina in recent decades. It was during the Argentine crisis of 2001 when Israel saw the largest number of ''

olim Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

'' from the

n country. The 1992 attack on the Israeli embassy and the 1994 bombing of the Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires also helped create an impetus for Jews to emigrate. There is a significant number of non-Jewish Argentines, having, or being married to somebody who has, at least one Jewish grandparent, who choose Israel as their new home, either permanently or temporarily. In 2012, according to a report by the

International Organization for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers. The IOM was ...

(IOM) entitled "Migration Profile of Argentina", Israel was ranked among the top destinations chosen by the Argentines to emigrate, ranking 5th place.

Argentine ''kibbutzim''

Several of the early Argentine pioneers in Israel settled in ''

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

im''.

References

External links

El Portal de los argentinos en Israel
{{Argentine diaspora Israeli Jews by national origin

History

Argentine ''kibbutzim''

See also

References

External links