Religion and Theology

The Republic of Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and
west. In the early 20th century, many Jews from Germany and Eastern Europe immigrated to the
country as anti-Semitism started spreading in Germany and other parts of Europe.

Specifically, a lot of Jews immigrated during the World War II. Initially, Guatemala was not in
favor of immigration of Jews into the country. In fact, in 1932 the government passed a law
ordering the expulsion of all peddlers, most of whom were Jewish. This had an impact to the
extent that many Jews who lost their livelihood were forced to emigrate.

Again, in 1936, a legislation was enacted to curb immigration of people of Asian origin, which
included people from Poland, most of whom were Jewish and were fleeing from persecution
during the holocaust.

While these laws remain till date, they have not been enforced since World War II and after the
war ended, many Jews immigrated to Guatemala. (Shields, n.d.).

The majority of the Jews lived in Guatemala City, in Quezaltenango and San Marcos. But, the
Jews who came to Guatemala during and after the World War 11, were not the first Jews to enter
the country.

The first Jewish immigrants actually came in the mid-19th century, when Jews immigrated from
Germany as the first signs of anti-Semitism started showing up in Europe. The descendants of
this small community are no longer Jews. (Algaze  Tapiero, n.d.).

After the war ended and throughout the 20th century, the Jews who immigrated to the
country came from different countries such as Syria, Iraq, Jerusalem, Panama, Turkey, Lebanon,
Egypt, Poland, Russia, and the United States, according to the data collected in the government
census survey in 1999. The reason for the immigration was for jobs or marriage to members of
the Jew community. This second generation of Jews managed textile mills, coffee plantations
and started construction and real estate business.

According to estimates, Guatemala at present has a small community of Jews between 1,200 and
2000 out of a total population of 12.7 million. Its indigenous population, the Maya, makes up
about 55 to 60 of the total population. While the Jewish community in Guatemala is small,
Jews have held high-level positions in the Guatemalan Congress and also work in government
Offices. (Freedman, n.d.)

The Jewish organizations in Guatemala are basically united under the Consejo Central. The
Jewish community in Guatemala consists of the Beth-El, which is of German origin, Magen
David, which is Sephardi and the Centro Hebreo, which consists of people of Eastern European
Origin. Each group has their own institutions and synagogues. (Palomino, 2008)

The first synagogue in Guatemala, inaugurated on August 11, 1938, was constructed by the
Sephardi Jews, who define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and traditions, which
originated in the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal) before the expulsion of Jews
from that area in the late 15th century.

The Sephardi Jews settled in Guatemala during the first two decades of the 20th century. Magen
David (Star of David) Sephardic synagogue is home to both Sephardic Jews and Ashkenazi
Jews, whose literal meaning is German Jews as they descended from the medieval Jewish
communities along the Rhine region in Germany.

But, in 1941, the Ashkenazi Jews founded their own organization, the Associacion Centro
Hebreo (Association Hebrew Centre), which opened its synagogue in 1968. The Sociedad
Israelita de Guatemala  (Beth-El) synagogue was functional between 1969 and 1989, with many
members of West European origin. In 1989, Centro Hebreo and Beth-El merged under the name
of the Centro Hebreo.

Guatemala has representation from most Zionist organizations such as Bnai Brith, Maccabi
World Union, WIZO (Womens International Zionist Organization), all of which function under
the Consejo Central. The Consejo also operates a Jewish kindergarten.

The first organization that represented the Guatemalan Jews on the national and at the
international level was the Sociedad Israelita de Guatemala, which was founded in 1913. In
1981, the Comunidad Juda de Guatemala or Guatemalan Jewish Community (GJC) was founded
as the representative organization for Jews in Guatemala. This organization became responsible
for all Jewish educational institutions, cemeteries, social, cultural activities of Jews and for
maintaining relations with local and international institutions be it for Jews or in general. It is
interesting to note that almost 69 of Guatemalan Jews declare themselves Zionists and the
members of the GJC are affiliated with the Zionist organizations that function in Guatemala.

Guatemalas constitution guarantees freedom of religion and Jews freely practice their religion.
The country is however predominantly Catholic, almost 50-60 of the population is Catholic
though in recent times, the number of evangelical Protestant groups have grown. Protestants
constitute 40 of the population with a small section of the population following Judaism or
Islam.

Almost 98 of the Jewish population lives in Guatemala City, where there are two temples,
the Sephardic and the Ashkenazi. The Jewish community does not feel any anti-Semitism,
though many believe that they are not perceived as being fully Guatemalan by followers of other
faiths in the country. (International Religious Freedom Report, Bureau of Democracy, Human
Rights and Labor, 2003)

One of the biggest challenges currently facing the Jewish community in Guatemala is of
preserving Jewish culture in a country, which has a very small Jewish population. The Jewish
immigration to Guatemala is now down to a trickle and even the Jews living in Guatemala travel
to countries such as the United States or Mexico in search of better job prospects or looking for a
spouse from their own community. According to statistics, almost 36 of Guatemalan Jews
between 18 and 45 years live abroad, mostly in the United States, due to these two reasons.

The need to preserve an active Jewish community in Guatemala has given birth to Jewish groups
such as Casa Hillel, which has a North American rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn. Casa was formed
around five years ago by around six or seven Guatemalan families who felt the need for a
community that can be looked upon for guidance by Jews living in Guatemala.
Casa Hillel or The House of Hillel is for Jews living in Guatemala and for Jews visiting the
country. The organization has the support of other Jewish institutions from Israel, the United
States and other countries.

Rabbi Jackes Cuckierkorn serves a Kansas City Reform Jewish congregation which
supports his effort to help Jewish families who want to preserve their Jewish heritage and
Culture.

In terms of firsts, Guatemala was the first Latin-American country to announce its recognition of
Israel immediately after the proclamation of the state. It was also the first country to open an
embassy in Jerusalem, called Garcia Granados. Later, the embassy was moved to Tel Aviv. In
1949, Israel also established its embassy in Guatemala City.

Guatemala had an important role in the vote on the partition of Palestine. The Guatemalan
ambassador to the United Nations in 1947, Jorge Garca Granados, was a member of the UN
Special Commission for Palestine and he worked for the creation of a Jewish state in a part of
Palestine. Since then, Guatemala has demonstrated its support for a Jewish State by voting many
time in favor of Israel in the United Nations.