BOGOTA - World Jewish Congress CEO and Executive Vice President Robert Singer visited Colombia last week for meetings with the Jewish community of Bogota and senior government officials and dignitaries.
Singer was welcomed on his visit by the president of the Confederación de Comunidades Judías de Colombia, George Levy, and its executive director, Marcos Peckel. In their meeting, the Jewish leaders discussed, inter alia, the growing numbers of anusim in Colombia (descendants of Jews who were forced to hide their Judaism following the inquisition, and who recently converted back to Judaism). 
During his visit, Singer also met with Frank Pearl, the chief negotiator who oversaw the peace agreements with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and The National Liberation Army (ELN). The discussion focused on tactics used for negotiations with guerilla groups and how they could relate to Israel and the Palestinians. Pearl outlined the key factors that made the negotiations with Colombia’s guerilla groups successful, which include: a clear set of goals, a strict agenda, the inclusion of active military and civil society leaders, a host site in a neutral country, clearly defined phases, and formal mechanisms combined with informal dialogued. He also stated that once the two sides need to create a personal relationship, but once they trust each other the negotiations will fail – rather they must trust the process.
Singer also met with Anibal Fernandez De Soto Camacho, the vice minister of defense for political and international relations, for a discussion focused on security. The vice minister explained the structure of his ministry, and Singer described the WJC’s global security department. In Colombia, there is a low rate of anti-Semitism and no real security threats against the local Jewish community.
The visit included meetings with the leaders of the local Evangelical community. Singer expressed his gratitude on behalf of world Jewry for the support of the Evangelical community. He explained that WJC has a strong working relationship with Evangelicals around the world, and that the WJC is a sponsor of the annual Feast of the Tabernacles in Jerusalem, an event hosted by the Christian Embassy. He also explained that the WJC is working hard to bring attention to the plight of Christian communities in the Middle East at the hands of Islamic extremists, and the only growing Christian community in the region is in Israel
Singer also met with the executive committee of the local Jewish Federation, and with members of the World Jewish Congress’ Jewish Diplomatic Corps and the Latin American Jewish Congress’ New Generation organization.
The Jewish community in Colombia numbers approximately 5,000 people, the majority of whom are based in Bogota. There are roughly 2,000 Anusim in Colombia. Within the community there are differing opinions on whether to include them as official members or not.
