There are, according to the report mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, about 150 Jews in Montevido, the capital of Uruguay, South America, most of whom came there from Buenos Ayres. About half of them are from Russia, the remainder hail from Greece, France and Alsace, and Roumania. They are engaged in various occupations and their material condition is not bad. Ten young Russian Jews joined the army and three of them attained the rank of sergeant. There is hardly any religious activity, except for a “minyan” held on Yom Kippur. Matzoth for the Passover are brought from Buenos Ayres, and a “Mohel” is also usually brought from there when the occasion arises.
There are several thousand Jews scattered over the other republics of South America, but they are mostly recent arrivals and unorganized, and very little is known about them. It is probable that the Polish-Jewish military adventurer, Isidor Borowski (b. in Warsaw, 1803; killed at the siege of Herat, Afghanistan, 1837), who fought under the great hero of South American independence, Simon Bolivar (1783–1830) in many battles,[61] was then the only Jew in that part of the world. Even at present, the number of Jews in the countries liberated by Bolivar is insignificant. There are about 500 Jews in Venezuela, mostly in the capital, Caracas, where the first Jewish congregation was founded in 1899. (American-Jewish Year Book 5660, p. 289). According to the writers of the American chapter in Outlines of Jewish History by Lady Magnus, for which—as stated in the preface—“Lady Magnus is in no wise responsible,” Jewish congregations were formed in Caracas and Coro, Venezuela, in the middle of the nineteenth century, presumably by Jews who lived there formerly as Marranos. But if these congregations existed at all, they must have been short-lived, and it is not certain that even the latest “first congregation” of 1899 is still in existence.
Hardly anything is known of Jews in Bolivia or Colombia, but it is certain that a considerable number are now to be found in the diminutive Republic of Panama, through which the great isthmian canal is now being cut by the United States. There were enough Jews in the city of Panama before that time to acquire a cemetery about 1905. The Alliance Israelite Universelle of Paris assisted a number of Moroccan Jews to settle in Peru, where they were reported as doing well and being better liked by the Indians than either Europeans or Chinese. But the climate does not agree with them, and many of them leave Peru as soon as they save a sufficient amount of money. About 100 Jewish residents, Moroccan, French and English, who own the largest stores and rubber plantations, are found in Iquitos, Peru, which was at one time an Indian village. There is a small community of Russian Jews in Lima. A number of prosperous Jewish merchants are located in Santiago, Chile, and in other cities of that republic, but there is no record of religious organization or of communal activities.
The number of Jews in Mexico is estimated to be not far from 10,000, mostly Syrians, Moroccans and French Alsatians. But as far as it is known, there is among them no organization and no religious life except an occasional “minyan” on the high holidays.
There is also a slowly increasing number of Jews in Cuba, mostly at Havana, where Moroccan and Syrian or Turkish Jews came to trade long ago; but since it was liberated from the Spanish yoke by the United States, Jewish immigrants from Europe, who formerly lived in the United States, settle there and help to spread the American influence.
CHAPTER XLI.
MEN OF EMINENCE IN THE ARTS, SCIENCES AND THE PROFESSIONS.
Jews who attained eminence in the world of art and of science—Moses J. Ezekiel—Ephraim Keyser—Isidor Konti—Victor D. Brenner—Butensky and Davidson—Painters: Henry Mosler, Constant Mayer, H. N. Hyneman and George D. M. Peixotto—Max Rosenthal and his son, Albert—Max Weyl, Toby E. Rosenthal, Louis Loeb and Katherine M. Cohen—Some cartoonists and caricaturists—Musicians, composers and musical directors—The Damrosch family, Gabrilowitsch, Hoffman and Ellman—Operatic and theatrical managers and impressarios—Playwrights and actors—Scientists: A. A. Michelson, Morris Bloomfield, Jacob H. Hollander, Charles Waldstein and his family—Charles Gross—Edwin R. A. Seligman, Adolph Cohn, Jaques Loeb, Simon Flexner and Abraham Jacobi—Fabian Franklin—Engineers: Sutro, Gottlieb and Jacobs—Some eminent physicians and lawyers—Merchants and financiers.
While the social and political success of the Jews in a country are usually taken as an indication of its liberalism and the equality of its citizens, regardless of their creed, the contribution of Jews to its intellectual and artistic achievements is the best proof that this equality brings its own reward for the general good. We have seen in the preceding chapters how the Jews of the United States assisted in the material development of the country, how they participated in the battles for its independence and for its preservation, and how they are now doing their share of the country’s useful work as working men, as business men, as professional men, etc., some of them having occupied before, and others occupying now, prominent positions in various walks of life. It remains now to cite several instances of Jews who attained distinction in the noble callings of the artist and the scientist, reflecting glory on their professions, as well as on the country of their birth or adoption.