 Location of Paraguay in South America | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,000[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Asunción | |
| Languages | |
| Spanish, Hebrew, Yiddish | |
| Religion | |
| Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Argentine Jews, Brazilian Jews, Ashkenazi Jews |
| Part of a series on |
| Jews and Judaism |
|---|
The history of the Jews in Paraguay has been characterised by migration of Jewish people, mainly from European countries, to the South American nation, and has resulted in the Jewish Paraguayan community numbering 1,000 today.[2]
Migration began primarily from Europe in the late 19th century, where the first waves of Jewish immigrants to Paraguay came from countries such as France and Italy. [3] This was largely a result of liberal immigration policies after the 1870 Triple Alliance Conflict depleted Paraguay's population. [4]
During the 1920s, Jews from Poland and Ukraine arrived in Paraguay, and in the 1930s there was a wave of mass immigration of approximately 20,000 Jews from Germany.[5] Jewish immigration to Paraguay increased during World War II, as many sought temporary refuge in the nation before attempting to seek entry into neighbouring countries, such as Argentina and Brazil.[6] Following World War II, Israel and Paraguay opened diplomatic relations in 1949, however in 1970, the Israeli Embassy in Asunción was attacked. This event was largely attributable to the Arab-Israeli conflict, which had a profound impact on the Paraguayan Jewish community.[3]
The Jewish community, who mostly reside in the capital Asunción, has ultimately had a significant influence on the Paraguayan community, both culturally and politically. There have been various political disagreements between the Paraguayan Jewish community and Israel, which have affected Paraguayan-Israel relations.[7] In terms of cultural influence, the Jewish Paraguayan community has established various synagogues in Asunción.[8] Furthermore, various literature and films have been created to depict Jewish European immigration to Paraguayan, many of them made since 2005.[9]
- ^ Congreso Judío Latinoamericano. "Comunidades judías: Paraguay" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Karam, John Tofik (1 July 2011). "Anti-Semitism from the Standpoint of its Arab Victims in a South American Border Zone". Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies. 6 (2): 141–167. doi:10.1080/17442222.2011.579726. ISSN 1744-2222. S2CID 144818713.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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:11was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Toktas, Sule; Kilinç, Fatih Resul (June 2018). "Jewish Immigration to the American Continent" (PDF). The Journal of Migration Studies. 4: 30–64.
- ^ Hung, Wei (14 November 2022). "Passports to Paraguay". Diplomat Magazine. p. 1. Retrieved 8 May 2022.