JULY 1998

What is it like to be a jew in Quito, Ecuador? Perhaps I could end this right away by saying  That being a jew in Quito, Ecuador, is like being a jew anywhere else in the world: it Requires dedication and effort and gives you great pride and satisfactions.

After all, jews  may live in different places around the world but we share the traditions and the values based on an extraordinary history which is centuries-old and has survived the test of  time and distance. These traditions and values are the same in Washington as they are in Quito, and as they are in Colombia where I grew up and lived almost all my life, or in Israel, or in any other place in what has now become this small world fours but it  would be unfair to end the talk here because I am sure that you wonder how it is exactly that jews live in Ecuador and how our community life is organized. Although jews have  been coming to Ecuador since the times of Columbus escaping from Spanish inquisition, the Current Jewish community of Ecuador is now basically the result of Jewish European immigration, mainly from central and eastern Europe, just before and after the second World war throughout the years since the second world war some families left  Ecuador mainly to live in the united states or Israel.

Fortunately, we have also had some New additions to the community during these years who have come mainly from other Latin American countries such as Colombia, Argentina and chile the largest and most  Important community in Ecuador lives in the capital Quito. There are also smaller Communities in Guayaquil and Cuenca.

There are about 250 jewish families in quito and  almost all are active members of our community it is not difficult to lead in Quito a life With full Jewish identity. We have many organizations in the community that are Responsible for various aspects of Jewish life the head organization is the Asociacion Israelita de Quito, responsible for all aspects of jewish life in the city. We maintain a  synagogue and community center and run the community through various commitees the Religious committee, responsible for coordinating the synagogue and all aspects of religious life. We of course hold regular Shabbat services special services in all Jewish  holidays, prepare children for their bat and bar mitzvot, hold Talmud torah programs  For the children of the community and educational programs for occasional conversions. I am the religious leader of the community and as such responsible for all These services the educational committee, responsible for the educational programs Offered to the children and young people of the community.

We have a youth movement affiliated to the international Hanoar Hatzioni and have traditionally hired a  youth director from Israel or Argentina to lead this work. Our children meet regularly During the weekends in their Jewish youth movement and regularly organize camping Outings. We now also hold a day-camp during the summer vacation. The activities Committee is responsible for the social and cultural life of the community. We have a Program of speeches during the year and of special activities to celebrate the main events during the Jewish year. We also keep an active coordination with the embassy of Israel in the organization of various events during the year. The objective is to keep the community active and to offer different possibilities of nurturing their "yidishkeit."

The Chevra kadisha maintains our cemetery and offers full funeral services we have the Jewish ladies organization, or as we now it the "judischesfrauen verein" as it was named  when the first immigrants came from central Europe in the mid 30 s. this group of ladies in our community are responsible for charity work and assisting the sick and elders.

We Also have a Beth Avot, our community old age home, where some of the elders of the community live and receive full care. We also have now a special committee responsible for the design and construction of a new synagogue and community center. This is now  the major project of our community. It is an ambitious project but we feel it is a necessity that can no longer be postponed other organizations within the community, which are run separately from the head community organization, are the Albert Einstein school, considered one of the best schools in quito. Education is offered from kindergarten to High School level and the school is open also to non-jewish students. Programs in the School include jewish history and Hebrew as an elective.

Our graduates are now Literally spread in universities all over the world. Here in the United States our  Graduates have attended or are currently attending such renowned universities as brown, boston university, Cornell, Georgetown, George Washington, MIT Princeton, Penn state, university of Miami, university of Pennsylvania, Tulane, Virginia, and others there is also a sports and social club in Quito, called the Macabi. It is open only for members of the Jewish community and is used mostly for sports and social activities  during the weekends and for activities of the Jewish youth movement also run separately From the head community organization, but with its full cooperation, are the fund raising

Activities for Israel, mainly the yearly Keren Hayesod campaign, WIZO activities, and Keren Kayemet. In summary, then, there is no shortage of activities or voluntary work within the community. As is usual in community affairs we have a nucleus of people who are involved in several organizations and who work very intensely for the community and this brings me to the confession of the one important problem that we face in our Jewish community and it has to do with our size. Although the small size helps in that  Everybody knows everybody else and therefore we are all involved in one way or another in community life, it does become a problem in the long term development of community life. Not all Jewish needs such as full kashruth can be offered on a regular basis, our economic possibilities are limited by size and therefore we cannot have all the staff that would be desirable, and most importantly we do not have enough young  people in the community to assure them of life-long partners.

In the long run, therefore, some of our young people look elsewhere for fulfilling their needs for yidishkeit our  Community is enriched every time we have a visitor from abroad. We need this  interrelationship to keep abreast of new developments in the jewish world and to share in the excitement of jewish life elsewhere. In this respect we were very fortunate that rabbi miller visited our community over a year ago and started what has now become a wonderful friendship for me and a great help for our community. I am very grateful to  rabbi miller for her continuous counsel and assistance. I hope that many of you will have  the possibility to visit ecuador in the future. Our country is extraordinarily beautiful: it has magnificent sites beautiful mountains, the wonderful Galapagos islands and many other tourist attractions. And now you also know that it has a small jewish community which will be delighted to welcome and assist you any time that you may be in ecuador.