Kesher Talk

Jews in odd places: Uruguay: It is true that I joke about Jews who are poor, because in this country there are so few. Other country's Jews are not as blessed as we are, however:

Historically, each of Uruguay’s four different Jewish communities — the Ashkenazi, Sephardi, German and Hungarian — has each been able to assist its own poor, who until recent years have made up 3 percent to 5 percent of the Jewish population.

But several factors in recent years combined to impoverish many of the country’s 15,000 Jews: The spread of globalization, which harmed many middle-class South American businessmen; a recession that began here in 1999 and continues until today; and, most notably, the 2002 economic crash.

True to form, the most dramatic blow to Uruguay’s economy followed the start of Argentina’s social and economic crisis by about six months. Uruguay depends on its large neighbor for the majority of its business, and what happens to Argentina’s economy usually happens to Uruguay’s.

The tremendous growth of indigence in the Jewish community during the last decade has created a class of people known as the “new poor,” and demanded a reassessment of the community’s traditional systems of aid, which were overwhelmed and inadequate.

posted by William @ 7/07/2003 10:02:07 AM