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| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 500 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| La Paz · Cochabamba · Santa Cruz de la Sierra | |
| Languages | |
| Spanish · Hebrew · Yiddish • Judaeo-Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Judaism · Jewish secularism |
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Thehistory of the Jews in Bolivia goes back to the colonial period ofBolivia in the 16th century.[1] In the 19th century, Jewish merchants (bothSephardim andAshkenazim) came to Bolivia, most of them taking local women as wives and founding families that merged into the mainstream Catholic society. This was often the case in the eastern regions of Santa Cruz, Tarija,Beni andPando, where these merchants came either from Brazil or Argentina.
In the colonial period,marranos from Spain settled in the country. Some worked in the silver mines inPotosi and others were among the pioneers that helped foundSanta Cruz de la Sierra in 1557. A few customs still held in the region suggest possible marrano Jewish ancestry, but the only documents which exist are from thePeruvian Inquisition.[1]
During the 20th century, substantial Jewish settlement began in Bolivia. In 1905, a group ofRussian Jews, followed by Argentines and later a few Sephardi families fromTurkey and theNear East, settled in Bolivia.[1] In 1917, it was estimated that there were only 20 to 25 professing Jews living in the country. By 1933, when theNazi era in Germany started, there were 30 Jewish families. The first large influx of Jewish immigrants was in the 1930s and there were 7,000 of them estimated at the end of 1942. During the 1940s, 2,200 Jews emigrated from Bolivia. But the ones who remained have settled their communities primarily inLa Paz, but alsoCochabamba,Oruro, Santa Cruz,Sucre,Tarija andPotosí. After World War II, a small number ofPolish Jews came to Bolivia. By 1939, Jewish communities gained greater stability in the country.
In recent decades, the Jewish community of Bolivia has declined significantly, many of them migrating to other countries such as Israel, the United States and Argentina.[2] The Jewish community in Bolivia has approximately 500 members with an enlarged population of 700, most of them located in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, followed byLa Paz and Cochabamba, having the presence ofsynagogues in all these cities.[3]
In 1938,German,Polish andLithuanianJewish immigrants who settled inLa Paz established the La Paz Jewish Cemetery (Spanish:Cementerio Judío de La Paz).[4]
During the 1938-1940 immigration wave, Jewish refugees received help from theGerman Jewish businessman Maurice Hochschild who had investments inBolivia. He helped get visas for Jewish immigrants from Europe and helped found the Sociedad de Proteccion a los Immigrantes Israelitas. Working with the Sociedad Colonizadora de Bolivia, Maurice Hochschild helped develop rural agricultural projects for Jewish refugees. The refugees, however, faced many difficulties and the farms were never able to become self-sufficient.[5]
As of 2015, it is estimated that the Jewish community in Bolivia decreased gradually and lacks youth, as they end high school, go to universities abroad, especially in Argentina, Brazil, the United States and Israel, and do not return.[6] The Boliviano Israelita School, located in La Paz, has 294 students, of whom only one is Jewish.[7]
In the 1990s, the community had about 700 members, the Jewish population of Bolivia has remained steady since then. This figure fell to 500 in the 2000s.[8] They have gained a few immigrants, mostly from Argentina, who roughly offset the youth exodus of students leaving for college.[2]
However, the Jewish community still maintainsJewish day schools as of 2023.[9]
During the 1930s administration ofGermán Busch Becerra the Jewish community enjoyed relative stability. However, the presidents who succeeded Busch were less accepting of Jewish immigrants and anti-Jewish incidents occurred on several occasions, mainly in the cities of La Paz and Cochabamba, where there were attacks on Jewish businesses and community centers.[10]
More recently, in January 2009, theMorales government broke ties with Israel, declaring it a "terrorist and genocidal state." Also, the Bolivian government cancelled an agreement established in 1972 which allowed Israeli citizens to visit the Andean country without a visa.[11]
On 12 August 2014, the President of the Chamber of DeputiesMarcelo Elío Chávez of theMovement for Socialism criticized Israeli government policies and stated that:
"Unfortunately, the Jewish people, who were massacred duringWorld War II, did not learn the lesson and now joins with US imperialism."[12]
In November 2019, after theoverthrow of Morales, Bolivia resumed ties with Israel and ties are now cordial. However, relations are hostile after Bolivia cut ties with Israel after theJabalia refugee camp airstrike on October 31, 2023.[citation needed]
