Les Juifs de Caracas (Venezuela)

The Jewish presence in Venezuela dates back to the settlement of Sephardim from Curaçao in Coro, but it was Caracas that became in the twentieth century the principal center of a community that was both Sephardic and Ashkenazi, prosperous and well organized. Active in commerce, industry and the liberal professions, the community built synagogues, schools, clubs and social and Zionist institutions, forming one of the most structured communities in South America. The political and economic instability of the country in the early twenty-first century led to the departure of a large portion of its members to the United States, Israel, Panama and other countries, greatly reducing its numbers.

Sources & resources

• Encyclopaedia Judaica — 2e éd., Keter/Macmillan
• Jewish Virtual Library ↗