vamos a basavilbaso

In the 1890s, Basavilbaso and other towns like it throughout Argentina farmland were settled by mostly Russian immigrants through the Jewish Colonization Association. As the first Jewish settlements in South America, these immigrants started to tend to their lands, became farmers while at the same time developing their Jewish community. Driving around Basavilbaso is what I imagine a shetl in Eastern Europe would look like. Every other building either a synagogue or Jewish institution, sign off the road that says Shabbat Shalom, Jewish street names, and menorahs on the doors. On Friday I had the opportunity to visit Basavilbaso and learn more about the Jewish roots in Argentina. 

I went with a group of forty madrichim from the four largest Jewish clubs in Buenos Aires: Hebraica, Macabi, Hacoaj, and Cissab. We visited three synagogues, the Jewish cemetery, and their version of a Jewish federation. At one time sixty percent of the population of the town was Jewish but now less than 2% of the town is Jewish. Many eventually moved to the bigger cities with urbanization and the search for opportunity. While two of the synagogues were in the town, the third was in the middle of the farmlands about four kilometers outside the city. It was beautiful, looked like a farmhouse outside but was marked with a Star of David to let people know it was the synagogue. The Jewish cemetery is quite large and holds many ancestors of Argentina's Jewish population today. A few of the madrichim in our group looked for their family's tombs while we were in the cemetery. 

We came to learn about the Jewish colony but we really came to support the community. The previous week swastikas and graffiti had been painted on the local synagogue. We wanted to let the Basavilbaso community know that even though they are small, they are supported by the larger community in Buenos Aires. We met with the president of the community to learn more about the current Jews living in the town. There are about 200 Jews and most of them are senior citizens. There are a handful of children (about fifteen in total) because most of the kids leave for school and don't return. We celebrated Shabbat with community members, hearing about their stories and telling them ours. It was a beautiful day and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to visit the colony.