The Zionist Community of Argentina

Overview:
The Jewish population in Latin America is largest in Argentina. This goes back to a large immigration wave of Jews into Latin America in 1880. This immigration wave was predominantly Ashkenazi and from Europe. Enjoying the open immigration policy of Argentina and Uruguay and to some extent that of Venezuela, they settled over large expanses of Latin America.¹
Herein, we examine the Jewish community in Argentina, the largest in Latin America with nearly 200,000 Jews.² The vast majority of Argentina’s Jewish population can be classified as “liberal Zionist”. The Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires is home to the country’s highest number of Jews. Rosario, Córdoba, and Santa Fe are other main Jewish population hubs. The number of Jewish inhabitants in Buenos Aires is as much as the Jewish populations of Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay combined.³
Delving into the Jewish diaspora in Argentina, one will find an integrated 2-layered Zionist network spread within industrial, commercial, political, and cultural fields.⁴ One layer is that of Argentinian institutions affiliated with global Zionist institutions. The second layer is that of local Argentinian Jewish entities acting to promote Zionism and Israeli foreign relations objectives.
A more comprehensive outline of these two layers has been drawn in a number of diagrams presented below. Given AMIA’s extensive subsidiaries and affiliated organizations surpassing that of any other Zionist organization in Argentina, a distinct diagram has been drawn for this organization alone.

Layer A: Internationally affiliated Argentinian Zionist Institutions

1.The LAJC Network (also known as the CJL in Spanish)

The Latin American Jewish Congress (LAJC) acts as the World Jewish Congress’s (WJC) regional arm in Latin America and was established in 1936.⁵ Argentinian Jewry holds the highest leverage in the WJC; seizing nearly half of its leading chairs (15 out of 31).
The “Delegación de Asociaciones Israelitas Argentinas” also known as DAIA, is also a major political player in Argentina and can be compared to the country’s equivalent of the US’ AIPAC lobby, encompassing more than 120 Jewish organizations and focusing on lobbying among politicians⁶. There is a long-standing partnership between DAIA and Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA), which also takes part in WJC meetings under the DAIA umbrella. AMIA claims to “promote the welfare of the Argentine Jewish community”, but effectively acts as a Zionist community coordinator.⁷
In terms of seeking to enforce Zionist activism, there is no network in Argentina’s Jewish community larger than AMIA. The organization began operations after Jewish immigrants formed the Buenos Aires-based “Jevrá Kedushá” in 1894 which was later renamed AMIA⁸. As of 1920, subsequent Jewish immigration flows gave AMIA many new members, culminating in a new headquarter in Balvanera, a neighborhood of Buenos Aires. In 1945, AMIA became the headquarters of the Federation of Jewish Argentine Communities.
AMIA has played a central role establishing Argentina’s Zionist community network by implementing some initiatives, such as the Central Council for Jewish Education , Federation of Jewish Communities in Argentina , Foundation Tzedaká, and La Tablada Israelite Cemetery, one of Buenos Aires’s first Jewish cemeteries, among others.
AMIA grew to provide and sponsor a variety of formal and informal educational, recreational, and ideological activities, as well as a healthcare cooperative. AMIA has an employment agency service that links employers with potential employees as well as providing resources and training to both Jewish and non-Jewish people, with more than 500,000 applicants in its database.⁹
Another major Zionist entity in Argentina with international links is the Zionist Organization of Argentina (OSA) . The group claims to promote Jewish identity, while enforcing cultural biases and prioritizing Israel and its role in the contemporary world stage as “fundamental elements in Jewish and Zionist life”¹⁰. It also performs as the local electoral platform for the Latin American Jewish Congress, incorporating a wide variety of political parties. It is worth mentioning, that these Argentinian political affiliates actively participate in the LAJC and influence the country’s various competitive elections between political parties.
It is worth noting that OSA is a member of the LAJC. The LAJC is itself a member organization of the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC).

2.The WZO’s Jerusalem Program Network

The World Zionist Organization – one of the world’s oldest international Zionist organizations – runs an active “Jerusalem Program” which incorporates a large number of prominent Argentinian Zionist organizations including the World Union of Progressive Judaism, Masorti Olami, B´nai B´rith of Argentina and the Argentinian branch of the World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS).

3.The Chabad Network

Since 1978, Argentina has been witness to the spread of Chabad-Lubavitch schools and communities across the country¹¹. While predominantly focused on religion and inter-community service, such groups have systematically provided Israel and its Argentinian influence operators cultural and economic support, effectively acting as community hubs for members of the larger Zionist community. La Fundacion de Jabad and Ofek Jabad are examples within this cluster.

Layer B: Local Argentinian Zionist Institutions, Independent from International Organizations

Since Argentina was for a time hailed as a homeland for Jews– late 18th and early 19th century – it has the largest Jewish population in Latin America, currently built on a mainly Spanish Sephardic heritage. Consequently, Argentina has become home to hundreds of large communities and entities which have formed independent of international backing. This community currently includes a vast variety of pro-Israel Jewish communities, associations, forums, unions, and foundations. The gist of these institutions is –following Zionist doctrine – to actively instill a sense of racial supremacy among Jews and provide the Zionist network in Argentina its needed human resources to operate.
These communities have led to the creation of various pro-Israel institutions. The most prominent of these institutions operate in fields related to culture, educational services, campus-focused programs and memorial services.

General Diagram of Argentina’s Zionist Network

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General Diagram of Argentina’s Locally Independent Zionist Institutions

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General Diagram of Argentina’s Internationally Affiliated Zionist Network

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Diagram of AMIA’s Affiliated Zionist Network

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1: https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199766581/obo-9780199766581-0085.xml

2: https://archive.jewishagency.org/jewish-community/content/24346/

3: https://wander-argentina.com/jewish-argentina/

4: https://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/about/communities/AR