By Michael U. Newman, other
p class=“p1”>Vittorio De Sica’s extraordinary film “The Garden of the Finzi-Continis” enters into a vanished world, into a circle of affluent and cultured young Italian Jews coming of age, searching for love and pleasure within the high walls of their opulent family homes during the 1930s. As the story unfolds, the dark clouds of fascism gather outside their protective cocoon, first slowly, then with gathering fury. For North American Jews, the unfolding story of Argentine Jewry has the same resonant power of De Sica’s subtle film — an unexpected look in the mirror.
In Argentina today, one of the most sophisticated and dedicated Jewish communities in our long history, is at risk, not from anti-Semitism but from an intensifying economic crisis swiftly unraveling their rich communal fabric. Although our ancestors chose different harbors in the new world, we have the unspoken realization that these accomplished and vibrant Jews are us — only more so.
Until recently, Argentina’s Jewish community of more than 200,000 glistened as a jewel of the Diaspora. This community has the familiar spectrum of Ashkenazi and Sephardim, traditional and liberal. In recent decades, the Conservative movement, under the charismatic leadership of American-born Rabbi Marshall Meyer, became the prevalent strain of Jewish observance. Together, these Jews built an impressive network of social, religious and educational institutions. Approximately 60 percent of their children attend Jewish schools with a vigorous secular, Judaic and Zionistic curriculum that puts many of our North American day schools to shame.
Many Argentinean Jews speak English and Hebrew fluently and many have traveled extensively in North America and spent meaningful time in Israel. For years, this once prosperous community gave generously to Israel and worldwide Jewish philanthropy. It produced accomplished rabbis and Jewish educators that were exported throughout the Diaspora. Their easily recognizable Jewish passion and hustle are fused with a uniquely stylish, European elegance, tempered by the soft rhythms and warm courtesy of Latin America. In short, Argentina’s Jews represent an extremely appealing and impressive branch of our scattered tribe.
The ascent of Argentina and its Jewish community was built on the country’s tremendous natural resources and a highly educated, burgeoning middle class. By the middle of the 20th century, Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world. During the early 1990s, their society steamed forward like passengers enjoying a festive cruise aboard a luxury liner that was silently taking on water below deck. Endemic government and business corruption in Argentina finally brought the masquerade to an end, first gradually, and then abruptly.
In December, 2001, the government de-linked the Argentine peso from the U.S. dollar and the currency’s value dropped 70 percent. Banks refused to allow people to withdraw whatever savings they had left. An elite inner circle managed to salvage their wealth at the eleventh hour, but most people saw their financial assets vanish overnight. Despite the first-world infrastructure of Buenos Aires, the country suddenly has a third-world economy. With unemployment of 25–30 percent and nearly 50 percent of population now living below the poverty line, the former middle class has borne the brunt of the crisis.
Though clinging to their deep-rooted pride and gusto for life, Argentinean Jews have not escaped economic devastation. Many have only recently begun to speak openly about their financial demise, the grave threat to their beloved Jewish institutions and their fears about the future. The “new poor” among the Jewish community include teachers, plumbers, electricians, secretaries, doctors, shopkeepers, accountants, small-business owners, single mothers and seniors who have suddenly lost their pensions. In other words, the “new poor” are us and their ranks are growing daily. An increasing number seek out synagogues and Jewish community agencies for help. Jewish community centers, synagogues and educational institutions cannot pay mortgages and face possible foreclosures on their beautiful buildings.
Fortunately, overt anti-Semitism does not appear to be an immediate threat. The bombings of the Israeli embassy in 1992 and the central Jewish community building (AMIA) in 1994 killed over 100 people, but these traumatic events appear to have been primarily the work of Hezbollah. The essential story is Argentina’s corrupt and ineffectual legal system, not systematic anti-Semitism. The darkness ahead does not appear to be neo-Nazism, but a continued slide into economic ruin.
Despite official government pronouncements that the economy will improve in the coming year, most Argentineans are now bracing for a long and deepening recession, much like our Great Depression of the 1930s. A substantial number of destitute families and idealistic young singles are deciding to make aliya to Israel, despite fears of suicide bombers and the escalating Middle East conflict. Many young professionals are looking to emigrate to North America or Europe. Most Argentinean Jews, however, simply cannot or will not leave their culture and family.
To its great credit, the Jewish community is valiantly trying to expand the range of social services to deal with the crisis, but our brothers and sisters in the southern hemisphere need our help — and quickly.
Here’s what we can we do:
1. Financial assistance: Giving generously to the IsraelNOW Emergency Fund campaign through the Jewish Federation will provide to people in Argentina, immediate relief from hunger and homelessness, as well as sustain schools, student scholarships, job retraining and other vital services for the most beleaguered of the Jewish community. These funds will also support Argentinean aliya to Israel.
2. Medical supplies: Many seniors and chronically ill are in severe need of medical supplies. If you work in the medical profession or pharmaceutical industry, contact the Jewish Federation to learn how to ship these supplies to emergency relief groups in the Jewish community.
3. Investment in institutional structures: North American Jews with significant capital resources and expertise in real estate investment should explore investments in the institutional buildings of the Argentinean Jews. With prices at all-time lows, the purchase of a school or community center building would give significant debt relief to the Jewish community and may prove to be an outstanding long-term financial investment as well.
4. Establish personal connections with Argentinean Jews. Argentina is a wonderful place to visit, with inexpensive European amenities, great food and wine, distinctive leather goods, elegant hotels, tango dancing, natural beauty and fabulous people who speak English and admire the United States. There are also opportunities to volunteer with the Jewish community and make lasting friendships with fellow Jews who share our values and aspirations.
You may ask: With all of the pain and bloodshed in Israel, is this really a time to worry about Argentinean Jewry? The answer is that history cries out for us to address both crises. Jews making aliya from Argentina help Israel. Sustaining a large and strong Jewish community in Argentina, which can one day again give generously of its financial and human resources, is an excellent investment in the future of Israel.
At the end of “The Garden of the Finzi-Continis,” we see the once proud and prosperous Jews of Italy stripped of their belongings and dignity by Fascist police, herded together into rooms with no escape, awaiting their sealed fate in the Nazi gas chambers. We can envision ourselves standing beside them. And yet, today is not the 1930s. Our fellow Jews need us and we are empowered to help. We can provide the financial and emotional bridge to keep Argentinean Jewry afloat while it weathers the economic crisis. And before it is too late.
Although the economic crisis in Argentina and the war in Israel seem worlds apart, they share the same essence. They share this moment, this historic nexus, in the survival of our people. This moment tests our Jewish souls, our cry that the “People of Israel are One.”
(Michael U. Newman is a lay leader at Congregation Beth Shalom. He recently traveled to Beunos Aires on behalf of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, with Rabbis Simon Benzaquen of Sephardic Bikur Holim and Saloman Cohen-Scali of Congregation Ezra Bessaroth)