Communal Institutions in Buenos Aires Maintained with Cemetery Income

(By Our Buenos Aires Correspondent)

It may sound like irony to say that the dead sustain the living, yet here it is not far from the truth. That is the state of affairs which prevails in the Jewish community of Buenos Aires and it comes about this way: There is in this city a well-organized Jewish burial society of the Ashkenazim with a membership of over 15,000 families, comprising 75,000 individuals. The income of this society from the burial of the Jewish dead is very large, exceeding that of any other Jewish social or philanthropic organization in the community, and the funds of the burial society are therefore used to a considerable degree for maintaining many institutions of the living Jewish community.

At the present time there is the danger that the Jews of Buenos Aires will remain without a cemetery and since the support of existing Jewish institutions is derived from the income of the burial society, this constitutes a serious problem for the Jewish community.

The present Jewish cemetery, which is located in a suburb not belonging to the Buenos Aires municipality, is overfilled. Some six years ago the burial society bought a plot of land in Buenos Aires and filed a petition with the city council for a license to establish a cemetery. This license was granted and consequently the society put a fence around the plot of land, erected buildings for the keepers and made preparations for the new cemetery. However, a Catholic ladies’ organization protested, on the ground that they were maintaining a home for blind children near the place where the cemetery was to be started. The burial society, however, contended that it was within its legal rights, having been granted the license by the city, and that, moreover, it had invested a large sum of money in preparing the cemetery. Now, after a long drawn-out dispute, the municipal council at a recent meeting voted to annul the concession which was granted six years ago.

Particularly vigorous in their opposition to the Jewish cemetery were the Conservatives and Socialists on the Municipal Coucil, the two very parties that had originally voted in favor of the concession. The Socialists distinguished themselves particularly in their hostility to the Jews. The outstanding leaders of the Socialist Party here are the brothers Enriquez and Adolpho Dickman. The Socialists voiced their objection bluntly on principle, stating they saw no justification for a separate Jewish cemetery. One of the Socialist councilmen went so far as to insinuate that the Jews were foreigners and could return whence they had come.

The issue has aroused a good deal of agitation among the Jewish population and the Jewish press is devoting considerable space to it. It is difficult to say what the outcome of the matter will be.

In other respects, Jewish life in Buenos Aires is running its usual course. If one were asked to describe the Jewish community here in a general way, one could say that it moves along in slow tempo. This is due largely to the fact that there is no harmony or spirit of cooperation among the various Jewish organizations in the city. The Jews here are organized in groups according to the countries and cities of their origin. Among these the spirit is not too friendly, so that social and communal activities are fragmentary and ofttimes ineffective.

On the whole, however, there is a strong Jewish consciousness in the community and a keen interest is displayed in Jewish affairs throughout the world, as well as in local problems. We have several Jewish papers, among them “Die Presse,” a daily Yiddish organ which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. The “Yiddishe Zeitung,” also a daily, which has been in existence for fifteen years, is now expanding its organization. It is moving into a new plant with large presses and the best facilities, so that it will from now on, be on a plane with the largest Argentinian papers.