Across the river from Buenos Aires is an overlooked Jewish population. Despite not being on the front page of the news, the community is active and recently renovated a memorial to their ancestors.
The refurbished Holocaust memorial, vandalized several times in recent years, was recently rededicated in Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital.
The refurbishing included new lights, staircases and an overall cleaning up. The monument was originally unveiled in 1994 and was funded by The Israelite Central Committee — the nation’s umbrella Jewish organization.
Both representatives of the Jewish community and Uruguayan officials were present for the rededication of the memorial along the Rambla waterfront which overlooks River Plate, the border between Uruguay and Argentina.
The ceremony coincided with the sixth meeting of the Jewish National Fund congress. Israel Ambassador Nina Ben Ami attended along with representatives from 15 nations.
The monument centers around a granite wall surrounding a stone path which leads to the Plaza. The gap represents the Holocaust. The monument features the Bridge of Doubt, a walkway meant to motivate visitors to think about the fate of European Jews. Quotes from Elie Wiesel and Maimonides are engraved on granite slabs, and another plaque tells the story of 15-year old Ana Balog, Uruguay’s only known Holocaust victim.
Uruguay’s Jewish community is more diverse than other South American Jewish communities despite having only 10,000 Jews. Uruguayan Jewry is 75% Sephardic due to a wave of immigration from the Balkan states and part of the mass Jewish exodus in the 1950s and 60s from North Africa.
