Inca Jews
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| Inca Jews | |
|---|---|
| Total population | less than 1000 |
| Regions with significant populations | Peru: nn |
| Language | *Liturgical: Hebrew *Vernacular: Spanish, Quechua, some Modern Hebrew |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Related ethnic groups | • Jews • Amerindian groups |
The Inca Jews are a small community of some hundreds of converts to Judaism, originating in Peru. The Inca Jews do not have Jewish herritage, all of them are converts, who began the process of Judaizing in the mid twentieth century. Most Inca Jews now live in Israel.
[edit] History
The community was founded in 1966 by an Inca man named Villaneuva, who faced great exclusion and prejudice in his native city of Trujillo for his decision to convert from the Catholic Church to Judaism. Villaneuva visited Spain for a time, learning from the local Sephardic community, and upon his return, was able to convince around 500 formerly Catholic Incas in Trujillo to convert. The new community tried to find refuge with the small Ashkenazic community in Lima (mostly Hungarian and Polish refugees from World War Two), but were not received well. In 1985, Villaneuva made contact with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who sent Rabbi Myron Zuber to Peru to help with their formal conversions. In 1988, Zuber arrived in Peru and aided the converts in matters such as how to properly observe kashrut and Shabbat. Eventually, it was decided that the Inca Jews could not reach their full potential in Peru, and decided to make aliyah to Israel. A Bias Din initially preformed formal conversions on around 300 of the community in 1991, almost all of whom emigrated to Israel, and they were followed by an additional 200. A community of around 30 Inca Jews moved to Lima at the same time, although they continued to face discrimination from the Ashkenazic community. Another 84 were formally converted in 2001.
