Columbia has been home to a small Jewish community since the Spanish period, with practice becoming more open in the late 18th century. Today there are approximately 3,500 Jews in Colombia, most of them concentrated in the capital, Bogota. Smaller communities exist throughout the country, notably in Cali, Barranquilla, and Medellin. There are three main communities. The oldest and largest is the Ashkenazic Centro Israelita de Bogota. Other communities include the Comunidad Hebrea Sefaradí, the Comunidad Marsorti, and additional emerging communities.
Bogota has a Jewish school, three cemeteries, the Kineret youth group, and Nacho Cartacho, a post-university organization. There is also an active Bikur Holim, a spectacular Beit Avot, Wizo, Federación Sionista (Zionist Federation), Damas Hebreas Sefaradí (Hebrew Sepharadi Women), Chabad Lubavich House, Gan Lubavich, and Majon Lubavich. The community enjoys a harmonic relationship between the various currents and institutions.
September 20, 2019