B"H

Jewish Tours

Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Virtual Jewish History Tour

Chile

By Beth Weiss

Post- World War II

With the increase in Jewish immigration, anti-Semitism reappeared. In 1940 a new committee called the Comite Representivo was created to deal with anti-Semitic behavior. This committee is a member of the World Jewish Congress, and in 1943 the committee granted responsibility for all Zionist activities to the Zionist Federation.

At the beginning of World War II, 879 Jewish refugees were told that they could only live in southern Chile, a region known for its harsh climate. Fifteen families lived in these difficult living situations for several years and subsequently found homes in more populated cities.

The Jews continued to prosper even with the increase in anti-Semitism. A number of Hungarians entered the country following the Hungarian Revolution.

Under the Allende government (1970-1973) a number of Jewish individuals achieved high status. Among them were: Jacques Chonchol, minister of agriculture; Jacobe Shaulson, a Radical party Parliament member; Volodia Teitelbaum, senator and leader of the Communist Party; Oscar Weiss, editor of the government newspaper; Enrique Testa, professor commercial law at the University of Chile and later the president of the State Defense Council.

Even with these influential individuals in the government, one-third of the Jewish community left under the Allende government and asserted a more capitalist outlook than before.

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