Historical records from the Mexican Inquisition indicate that the first Jews arrived in Guatemala during the colonial period and were “Marranos,” or Crypto-Jews. However, the present Guatemalan Jewish community can be traced back to the arrival of German Jewish immigrants in the mid-19th century. These immigrants found Guatemala to be commercially fruitful and became involved in several industries, including banking, coffee, and textile.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the majority of Guatemalan Jews moved from Quetzaltenango, where most Jews originally settled, to the capital of Guatemala City. Mainly from Germany, Middle Eastern countries, and eastern European countries, these Jewish immigrants mainly came to Guatemala via Cuba and considered the country a temporary stop until they could obtain visas to the United States. However, many of them stayed in Guatemala following the adoption of draconian immigration quotas in the U.S. during the 1920s.

Despite such proceedings, Guatemala attempted to limit Jewish immigration in the 1930s. The government outlawed 'peddling', a common enterprise among Jewish immigrants in Guatemala, forcing many Guatemalan Jews to either emigrate or face ruin. After World War II, laws regarding peddling were relaxed and rarely enforced. Jewish immigration to Guatemala continued to be largely Sephardic, and in 1948, Guatemala voted in favor of partitioning Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state in the United Nations vote that established the State of Israel.

Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, various Jewish organizations and institutions sprouted, merged, or ceased to exist. In 1981, the statutes were approved for the Comunidad Judía de Guatemala ("Central Council of the Jewish Community of Guatemala") with a duration of 25 years, during which time it served as the main representative of Jewish life in Guatemala. Around this time, the Guatemalan Jewry reached its peak population size at about 1,000 people. The small decline that led to the growth of the Guatemalan Jewish population was largely a result of the country’s economic situation and safety issues. Many young Guatemalan Jews have since emigrated to the United States and Israel, as well as neighboring countries such as Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, etc.

In 1998, the board of the Central Council undertook a modernization project, during which time a census survey of the community was taken, a socio-sports center was built, and an endowment fund for future community projects was established.

In 2014, members of the ultra-Orthodox sect Lev Tahor left Quebec and Ontario in Canada after facing prosecution for child abuse and neglect charges there and resettled in Guatemala in the town of San Juan La Laguna. Later that year, a group of elders of the indigenous Tz'utujil population ordered the group to leave in order to protect their indigenous culture, which is protected by the Guatemalan constitution. 

Today, the Guatemalan Jewish community, mainly comprised of Sephardim and Ashkenazim (of German origin), enjoys a sense of stability. Judaism is protected by the Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala, and Jews take part in all aspects of Guatemalan society.

With the rise of Nazism in Germany, many members of the Israelite Society of Guatemala, then one of the more prominent Jewish organizations in the country, attempted to get family members still in Germany to Guatemala. During the war, Guatemala followed the trend of other Latin American countries in restricting immigration from Europe, which included Jewish refugees.

Laws making life more difficult for foreigners, as well as laws forbidding the admission of any individuals of "Asian origin," which included Polish Jews, made Guatemala difficult to access for fleeing Jews. Nevertheless, with the help of Guatemalan Jews who were already citizens in the 1930s, some European Jews were able to build a life in the country during that time.

Approximately 1,000 Jews live in the country as of 2021, according to the State Department Report on International Religious Freedom. Almost all Guatemalan Jews live in Guatemala City, the nation’s capital, and the Jewish community is roughly 60% Ashkenazi and 40% Sephardic.

The main entity that unites all of Guatemala's Jewish groups is the Comunidad Judía de Guatemala, based in Guatemala City, where most Jewish institutions are located. These include groups of Israeli origin, such as B'nai Brith, which combats antisemitism and provides disaster relief; the Women’s International Zionist Organization, which offers childcare and safe havens for women; and the Organización Sionista de Guatemala. Additionally, there are Guatemalan-origin groups like Cadena, a Jewish humanitarian organization that brings clean water to underprivileged regions and offers disaster relief. The community also benefits from a supermarket carrying kosher goods and a small Jewish sports social club.

Regarding communal care, the Tzedaká Committee offers financial and professional support, as well as community support, to those in need within the community, while the Bikur Jolim Committee handles supporting people with health issues. 

The community in Guatemala is composed primarily of Orthodox Jews; however, there are both Orthodox synagogues, Sinagoga Maguen David and Sinagoga Sharei Binyamin, and a reform synagogue, Sinagoga Adat Israel, in Guatemala City. Both synagogues offer services for the major festivals and Shabbat.

1. Guatemala was the first Latin American country to recognize Israel and the second, after the United States, to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

2. Guatemala’s current president, Bernardo Arévalo, was educated in Israel and speaks Hebrew.

3. Guatemala’s Jewish population is made up of approximately half Sephardic and half Ashkenazi Jews.

There are options for kosher food in Guatemala, but it is largely limited to Guatemala City. Additionally, the community runs a non-profit kosher kitchen.

Comunidad Judía de Guatemala participates in kosher certification and has a list of many kosher products widely available in Guatemalan stores on their website.

The Gan Hillel runs a kindergarten program that is considered to be one of the most prestigious at the national level; the Hebrew Tarbut School is for children of primary age, and the Emshej program is for post-Bar/Bat Mitzvah youths. For adults, there are varied options provided by the Comunidad Judía de Guatemala, including classes and conferences on Judaism. Moreover, the community also runs a complimentary afternoon school.

The Gan Hillel preschool in Guatemala City offers a Jewish education for young children. Young Guatemalan Jews have the opportunity to participate in Maccabi Hatzair, a Zionist youth movement that children and young people attend until they graduate from high school. After that, they can become active in Guatemalan University Jews (GUJ). Guafty, a reform youth movement, is also active in the country. The Museo del Holocausto additionally asks for youth volunteers.

Most attractions are located in Guatemala City. The Museo del Holocausto, the first Holocaust museum in Latin America, opened in Guatemala City in 2017.

Israel and Guatemala have maintained full diplomatic ties since 1948, with Guatemala playing an important role in the United Nations vote that provided the basis for the creation of a Jewish state. In 2018, President Jimmy Morales announced that Guatemala would be moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, making it the first Latin American country to do so.

The Guatemalan National Congress has declared May 14th as an annual day of friendship with Israel. This law establishes that the Ministry of Education and other government entities must "promote at the national level the development of cultural activities that recall friendship, cooperation, and aid between peoples" on both sides.

Embassy of Israel in Guatemala:
13 Avenida 14-07
Zona 10, Oakland
Guatemala, Guatemala

Telephone: (502) 2363-5665, (502) 2363-5674, (502) 2333-6951
Fax: (502) 2333-6950
Email: Ambassador-Sec@Guatemala.mfa.gov.il