Exploring Jewish life in Panama

Contemporary Panama’s “reason d’existance” derives from the famous canal which created an aquatic passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, thus shortening travel routes for much of the world’s shipping routes.  Considered to be one of the greatest engineering feats of its time, its story combines a fascinating perspective on American history and the history of technology.  Anyone really interested in the fascinating history of the construction of the Panama Canal should read David McCullough’s, The Path Between the Seas.

 

Panama has become a focal point of vacation traffic. Kosherica’scruise to Mexico and Panama is scheduled to depart from San Diego on Friday December 21. While the canal generally overshadows any other points of interest, we thought our readers might like to know a little about Panama’s Jewish character.

Here are a number of facts you may have never known about the Jewish community in Panama:

1.  That there is such a thing;
2. It’s the only country outside of Israel that elected two Jewish presidents in the 20^th century;
3. With an estimated Jewish population of 7,000, it has 8 kosher restaurants;
4. A record 85% of its Jewish population maintain kosher households;
5. It boasts a large and very well stocked kosher supermarket which has over 10,000 food items from Israel, Europe and Panama;
6. It has 5 Jewish schools for elementary through high school students.

Like much of South and Central America, Panama’s earliest Jewish settlers were Spanish and Portuguese Marranos- Jews who during the Spanish inquisition in the middle ages - had officially converted to Christianity while clandestinely maintaining their Jewish faith and rituals.  

Panama and other destinations in the southern hemisphere were a haven because they could finally end the double lives they were living and resume their identities as Jews.   The end of Spanish colonial rule in 1821 resulted in Panama becoming part of Columbia which heralded the arrival of Sephardic Jewish settlers from Jamaica and Ashkenazim from Central Europe.  The lack of a large community served as a catalyst for many of them to either intermarry or integrate within the general population.  

Again in the middle of the 19^th century the Jewish population base was replenished by immigrants from the nearby Caribbean region and the Netherlands.  The first synagogue, Kol Shearith Israel (Voice of the dispersed of Israel)- a most appropriate name, was established in 1876. Today, this community has about 160 families.

In 1911, around the time that the canal was being completed, there were over 50 Jews living there. In 1933, unrelated to events in Europe, a small contingent of Jews from Syria and (what was to become) Israel established a second congregation, Shevet Achim – (Brotherly unity), which is modeled on Orthodox tradition and is today the largest congregation.  But the pressures of intermarriage negated the influx of newcomers which occurred after the end of the First World War.   By 1936, the two synagogues had a combined population of 600.  A third synagogue – Beth El- (The house of the Lord), also Orthodox was founded by Jews who arrived escaping from Nazi dominated Europe.

By the mid 1990’s the Jewish population had risen to over 7,000. The the three synagogues joined by several international Jewish organizations like Bnai Brith and WIZO, are united under the Consejo Central Comunitario Hebreo de Panama -  Central Jewish Community of Panama which supports a vibrant and independent Jewish life.

If you are interested in taking a Glatt kosher cruise to Panama with Kosherica this winter, you can find out more info about that cruise and others on Kosherica's website. It will most certainly be an experience of a lifetime!

Have you been to Panama before? Let us know in the comments below, on Facebook, Twitter or Google+. Also, if you want to see some amazing pictures from previous Kosherica cruises, check out our Pinterest.