Community in Costa Rica - World Jewish Congress

Costa Rica

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The Years of the Holocaust

Demography

Community Life

Religious and Cultural life

Information for visitors

Relations with Israel

A 2020 census report by Wisevoter.com estimated that Costa Rica had 2,500 Jews. Costa Rican Jewry, which is predominantly Ashkenazi, has a long and rich history in the nation and is still quite active. It is part of an open and welcoming culture, and Costa Rican Jews are represented in all parts of Costa Rican life, including high-level positions of government.

The Centro Israelita Sionista de Costa Rica represents Costa Rica's Jewish community and is the country's affiliate of the World Jewish Congress.

WJC Affiliate

Centro Israelita Sionista De Costa Rica (CIS)

Telephone: 506-2520-1013
Email: cisdcr@centroisraelita.com
Website: http://www.centroisraelita.com

Social Media:
Facebook: Centro Israelita Sionista de Costa Rica
Instagram: @ciscr
X: @CostaRica_CIS
YouTube: Centro Israelita Sionista de Costa Rica CIS

President: Amin Majchel

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History

The history of Jews in Costa Rica is the result of a series of migratory waves that were preceded by tragedy and persecution, but, at the same time, by the hope of finding a home somewhere in the world.

The sources place the first immigration of Jews to Costa Rica between the years 1561 and 1575, coming from ships where "Crypto-Jews," or Jews who practiced Judaism despite having been forcibly converted to Christianity, came. The second group arrived during the 19th century from Curacao, Jamaica, Panama, and the Caribbean, arriving mainly in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. They may have been Sephardi “Conversos” (Jewish converts to Catholicism) who arrived during the Spanish conquest of the territory and settled in Cartago, although this story has been somewhat mythologized by non-Jewish Costa Ricans. These early arrivals likely hid all semblance or acknowledgment of their Jewish past to eventually assimilate into Costa Rican colonial society, ultimately losing their Jewish identity and traditions.

By the 20th century, mainly between 1927 and 1939, the third largest wave of Jewish immigrants arrived in the country, most of them Ashkenazi Jews. They were people of limited resources who came essentially from Poland in search of freedom, fleeing from European uncertainty and Nazism. There was a fourth wave of Jewish immigration to Costa Rica between 1941 and 1945, during the Holocaust and post-war periods.

The Jews who arrived were mainly from Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Austria, Romania, and Hungary. They were young people, between 25 and 30 years old, who came without money in search of work to be able to bring their families to the American continent and were stuck in Europe. This is how they began to engage in street sales, something that was later known by the locals as "polaquear” or 'Polish', because it was the Polish who went from house to house trying to sell their merchandise. Nevertheless, the term preferred by merchant Jews was “Klapers,” a Yiddish word derived from the word “Klap,” referring to the sound they made when knocking on the door. Those first attempts to find stability translated into insertion into the economy; some managed to set up a store or get more stable jobs that allowed them to grow and prosper.

After World War II and the Holocaust, some survivors with relatives already in the country came to Costa Rica. The conclusion of the Costa Rican Civil War in 1948 saw antisemitism become disturbingly prominent in governmental practices. There was a federal investigation into the legal status and immigration practices of the country’s Jews, and in 1952, national activists attempted to pass a law restricting commercial activities to only native Costa Ricans. Jewish homes and institutions were subsequently attacked. Eventually, under President José Figueres, things improved for Costa Rican Jewry after he publicly reaffirmed the Costa Rican constitution’s guarantee of equal rights for all Costa Ricans.

Despite such troubles, leading into the latter portion of the 20th century, Jews were well integrated into and involved in Costa Rican society. Some went on to become politicians, deputies, and ministers: Doris Yankelewitz Berger was the First Lady from 1982 to 1986, Rebecca Grynspan served as Second Vice President from 1994 to 1998, and Jamie Daremblum served as the Ambassador to the United States from 1998 to 2004. Astrid Fischel served as Minister of Education from 2002 to 2003, and Luis Liberman served as Second Vice President from 2010 to 2014.

In more recent years, the Jewish immigrant population has largely comprised expatriate American retirees and Israelis, which has helped bolster the overall Costa Rican Jewish population and diversify the expression of Jewish religious and cultural life in the country. Economic and political instability in Argentina and Venezuela has also contributed to Jews settling in Costa Rica.

The Years of the Holocaust

The first migration wave of Polish Jews began with their entrance to Puerto Limón in 1929. Society immediately rejected them, starting an anti-Jewish campaign in the Costa Rican press in 1931, but the Jewish community soon gained the respect of President Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno after the 1932 elections. That same year, the Costa Rican Nazi Party was founded, which was not part of any electoral process but did defend the influence of Nazism in Germany.

The mid-1930s saw Polish Jews under investigation by the government, putting their immigration statuses into jeopardy. While they were eventually deemed ‘safe’ in 1935, President Jiménez’s successor, León Cortés Castro, soon after upended the decision. For the next few years, the Cortés government monitored the Jewish community and actively worked to limit the entry of Jews into the country. During this era, the national press restarted its previous attacks on the marginalized community. In 1941, a book called the Index of Polish Citizens in Costa Rica was prepared for the National Congress, with the intention of expelling Costa Rican Jews, but it was never implemented.

Things did not immediately improve under the administration of Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia (1940–1944), who was influenced by Catholic nationalism and had previously criticized Cortés for being too “light” with the Jewish citizens. After the declaration of war against Japan and the Axis powers in 1941, the first prison camp was created for citizens of the Axis countries with the intention of expelling them; as a result, the government became more focused on German, Italian, and Japanese immigrants, rather than the newly arrived Jewish settlers. Conditions for Jews in Costa Rica improved during the subsequent administration of Teodoro Picado Michalski (1944–1948), with some 190 Holocaust survivors immigrating to Costa Rica after the end of World War II.

Demography

In 1993, the Jewish population in Costa Rica was estimated at approximately 2,500 people. The majority of Jews in Costa Rica resided in San José, the capital. They were descendants of immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe, as well as countries such as Turkey and Syria.

In the early 2000s, the Jewish population in Costa Rica was estimated at around 2,500 to 3,000 people. The community continued to enjoy a high degree of integration and economic prosperity. Additionally, there was an increase in the number of Jews from other parts of Latin America settling in Costa Rica due to the country's political and economic stability.

Between 2010 and 2020, the Jewish population in Costa Rica maintained its demographic stability, with estimates fluctuating between 2,500 and 3,000 people. The community continued to strengthen its ties, both internally and with other Jewish communities in Latin America. During this period, an increase in the emigration of Costa Rican Jews to Israel was observed, a phenomenon known as Aliyah.

Community Life

In 1932, the Zionist Organization emerged as the first formal Jewish organization in Costa Rica. In 1937, this institutional body merged with the Israelite Zionist Center of Costa Rica, becoming the core entity of the Costa Rican Jewish community. Today, the Centro Israelita is the main Jewish community institution in Costa Rica, responsible for maintaining and promoting religious activity, mutual aid, charity, formal and informal Jewish education, and care for the elderly, among others.

Besides acting as a communal body for Costa Rican Jewry, the Centro Israelita Sionista also operates a community library and several diverse Jewish organizations such as WIZO, B’nai Brith, Hanoar Hatzioni, Keren Kayemet, Keren Hayesod, Gold Crown (a daycare for elderly people), Liaison Forum Costa Rica-Israel (Hasbara and combating antisemitism), Israelite Ladies, the Yad Vashem Committee, B’nai Brith Sports, and Deportivo Israelita.

In 1954, the official building of the Israelite Zionist Center was inaugurated, moving from Paso de la Vaca to Paseo Colón. In 1999, due to the deterioration and location of the community center on Paseo Colón, the board of directors saw the need to relocate the community center. Five years later, the first book of the Torah of the Paseo Colón synagogue was moved to the new synagogue in Pavas, which is proudly to this day the location of the Israelite Zionist Center of Costa Rica.

The community has different associated institutions that reach out not only to the interior of its members to provide social assistance and educational, social, and religious activities within the community but also externally to Costa Rican society in general, helping to promote social well-being.

Religious and Cultural life

Costa Rican Jews are predominantly Orthodox, with a synagogue in San José, a reform synagogue, the B'nei Israel Congregation, and a Chabad. There are three mikvehs, for men, women, and keilim (food vessels). Since its inception, the community has followed Orthodox regulations, performing religious prayers such as Shajarit, Minja, and Aravit daily and providing both kosher food year-round and special products for Pesach and other festivities. Cultural activities are organized by the events department, under the supervision of the Secretariat of Community Life, Culture, or Rabbinate. Community observance is under Orthodox supervision, with a permanent rabbi to support all members.

Community Facts

1. The city of Escazú is known as “The Town of Witches” because originally, on Friday afternoons, the Jewish immigrants performed the Shabbat ceremony. The natives of the town believed them to be practicing witchcraft since they did not know the context of lighting candles or the reasoning behind the women wearing veils.

2. In 1932, the Zionist Organization emerged as the first formal Jewish organization in the region; in 1937, this institutional body merged with the Israelite Zionist Center of Costa Rica, becoming the core entity of the Costa Rican Jewish community.

3. Most Costa Rican Jews today can trace their history to the Polish village of Żelechów. As many of these Polish Jewish immigrants engaged in door-to-door commerce, the Costa Rican Spanish derogatory slang "Polacos" became a colloquial term for 'salesmen.' The immigrants mainly settled in San José and eventually founded the country’s first Orthodox synagogue.

Jewish Education

In 1954, the official building of the Israelite Zionist Center was inaugurated, moving from Paso de la Vaca to Paseo Colón. Six years later, in 1960, the first Jewish school in Costa Rica, the Doctor Jaim Weizman Institute, opened its doors. A school that, until today, kept its doors open and is the heart of the Jewish Community of Costa Rica.

The school provides a Jewish-oriented education within curriculum guidelines that are maintained by the Ministry of Education; it stresses the importance of Jewish history and Hebrew language and runs from kindergarten through secondary school. Additionally, the Chabad Lubavitch in San José operates both an American Jewish day school and a Hebrew school. Other Jewish educational activities are also operated by the Centro Israelita Sionista de Costa Rica. This includes Jewish education for adults.

Youth

Costa Rican Jewish youth groups are mainly run through the Centro Israelita Sionista de Costa Rica, such as Hanoar Hatzioni and Beit Scopus, which are geared towards young Jews aged 18 and up.

Jewish Media

The Centro Israelita Sionista publishes the La Huella newsletter monthly.

Kosher Food

Kosher meat and overall food are available in San José, with a kosher butcher shop and a local store carrying kosher products. Kosher food in Costa Rica is under the Orthodox supervision of the rabbi’s office. It’s also possible to find products under OU supervision from the USA and another hashgachot under Orthodox observance.

Information for visitors

In San Jose, the Israelite Zionist Center of Costa Rica and the Bnei Israel Congregation constitute notable Jewish sites. There is a Jewish museum in San José, El Museo de Historia de la Comunidad Judía de Costa Rica, that offers special lectures on a variety of Jewish topics, such as the Shoah, the history of Israel, and Jewish-Arab relations. There is also a Jewish cemetery in San José that was inaugurated in 1931.

Relations with Israel

Israel and Costa Rica have enjoyed full diplomatic relations since Costa Rica voted in favor of the UN Partition Plan of 1947 and has historically supported Israel's issues and matters at the UN. Currently, several political committees and different entities work to defend the local Jewish community against antisemitism, support projects for Jewish livelihood, and defend the cause of the State of Israel.

Annually, Costa Rica celebrates Yom Ha'atzmaut and Yom Hazikaron, and the spirit of the community has been linked with the Jewish State since the beginning of its formation almost 80 years ago. Costa Rica leverages its strong relationship with Israel by establishing a permanent embassy and consulate in the country, fostering a close relationship with the Jewish community.

Embassy of Israel in San José:

Paseo Colón, Calle 38, Avenida 2
Oficentro Colón, Piso 11
San José
Costa Rica

Telephone: +506 2221 6444
Fax: +506 2257 0867
Email: info@sanjose.mfa.gov.il

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