Chan Chan is the world’s largest mud city. Lying just outside the town of Trujillo, on Peru’s northern coast, Chan Chan’s high earthen walls feature pre-Columbian carvings paying tribute to the civilization’s many gods. Last July I ventured to Peru, not just to visit the ruins of great ancient cities founded by the Incas and… More ▸
Peru’s Jewish community is slowly seeing its numbers increase after years of watching families pack their bags and head abroad in search of a more secure future. Rabbi Guillermo Bronstein, an Argentine who has served as a rabbi in Peru since 1985, says the size of the community is roughly half what it was at… More ▸
Peru’s lawmakers have overwhelmingly passed a bill aimed at reducing discrimination on the basis of religion, race or ethnicity. The legislation, which mandates stern punishment for those who commit “crimes against humanity,” will have a profound impact on the Jewish community, according to Elan Steinberg, executive director of the World Jewish Congress. “Until now, if… More ▸
The Jewish community of Peru is relieved at the arrest of Abimael Guzman Reynoso, leader of the notorious Shining Path terrorist group. “Jews were not singled out as such,” a Jewish spokesman told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “But they suffered from terrorism like everyone else.” Guzman, who remained at large for 12 years, was apprehended… More ▸
Several recent acts of terrorist violence in Peru have been directed at Jewish targets there, according to the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith and other sources who are in touch with the Peruvian Jewish community. The violence includes the bombing of a synagogue and Jewish businesses and the kidnapping of a prominent Jewish industrialist. Responsibility… More ▸
The leader of the Jewish community of Lima, Peru, survived an attack on his life on Tuesday, according to several reports. Jacobo (Yaacov) Hasson, secretary of the Association Judia del Peru, was wounded in the hand by machine gun fire, but continued to drive his car down a Lama avenue near his home after unknown… More ▸
Peruvian authorities intend to try three members of the Abu Nidal organization whose alleged plot to attack Israeli and Jewish interests there was uncovered. The men, who were arrested July 30 in the capital of Lima, were found to have compiled extensive information on Israeli and Jewish offices and synagogues, as well as detailed reports… More ▸
Authorities in Peru are holding three men identified as members of the Abu Nidal terrorist organization, who allegedly planned to attack Jewish and Israeli institutions in that country. Police in Lima said the group’s leader, identified as Hocine Bouzidi, is reported to have planned the November 1985 hijacking of an Egyptair jetliner to Malta. An… More ▸
The Peruvian Chamber of Deputies has repudiated the 1975 United Nations General Assembly resolution equating Zionism with racism. Its action is considered significant by observers here in view of the government’s left-leaning position which has been marked by pronouncements favoring the Palestine Liberation Organization, the World Jewish Congress reported. The legislature has formally advised UN… More ▸
The Palestine Liberation Organization’s increasing ties with Peru have become a source of controversy within President Alan Garcia’s administration, according to “Latin American Report,” published by the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith. The ADL also reported that the PLO and its supporters are continuing efforts toward establishing an office in Argentina and gaining increased stature… More ▸
