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War II. During that period, El Salvador granted Salvadoran
documents of citizenship to 10,000 Jews, most of them from
Hungary, thus rescuing them from deportation to Auschwitz.
This operation was carried out by George Mandel-Mantello,
a Romanian Jew, who was appointed as first secretary in the
Salvadoran Consulate in Geneva, Switzerland. Mandel-Mantello
was supported by José Castellanos, consul general of El
Salvador in Switzerland, by José Gustavo Guerrero, former
president of El Salvador, and by the foreign minister of El Salvador,
Julio Enrique.
The communal organization La Comunidad Israelita de
El Salvador was founded in 1944, as the representative organ
of the Jewish community and the provider of its social and
religious needs. A year later it inaugurated its cemetery and
in 1950 it opened a synagogue that conducts services on Sabbaths
and holidays. The Zionist Organization was established
in 1945 and an affiliate of *WIZO somewhat later. There is no
regular Jewish school, but some classes in Hebrew and religion
are conducted by the rabbi. The Jewish community of El Salvador
is affiliated to FEDECO – Federación de Comunidades
Judías de Centro América that was founded in 1956. The Liebes
and De Sola families were the most prominent in philanthropic,
cultural, and business activities of the community.
Alexander Freund was for many years the spiritual leader of
the community.
Prior to the civil war of 1979–91 there were around 300
Jews in El Salvador, most of them in the capital. A census of
the community carried out in 1971 recorded 268 affiliated Jews
and 43 non-affiliated; 277 were Ashkenazim and 34 Sephardim;
53 couples were Jewish and 60 were of mixed marriages, with
most of the children considered as non-Jews.
The signing of peace treaties in 1991 led to the return of
several Jewish couples with children who had moved elsewhere
during the civil war, and, as of 2000, the Jewish population
in El Salvador was approximately 120. A new community
center and synagogue were inaugurated in the 1990s. There are
two synagogues, and the community is divided between adherents
to Conservative and Reform Judaism. At the Conservative
synagogue, Sabbath services are held on Friday evenings
only; however, the Comunidad Israelita de El Salvador holds
services on Friday, Shabbat morning, and on holidays. University
students have a Jewish students association, ejes (Estudiantes
Judíos de El Salvador), and a Zionist group, fusla (Federación
de Universitarios Sionistas de Latinoamérica), both of
which are active throughout the year. For adults, the community
offers different educational classes in Hebrew and other
topics of interest. The “Chevra of Women” offers a course in
Jewish cooking, and there is a monthly Jewish bulletin called
El Kehilatón, which advertises synagogue events. The Noar
Shelanu youth movement, with about 30 children age 8–18
and a kindergarten for young children, meets weekly.
Relations with Israel
El Salvador abstained in the debate about the Partition of Palestine
in the UN General Assembly session of November 29,
eltekeh
1947, but was one of the first countries which recognized the
State of Israel (on Sept. 11, 1948). The Instituto Cultural El Salvador-Israel
was founded in 1956. El Salvador is one of only
two countries (Costa Rica is the other) to maintain its embassy
in Jerusalem. One of the only times of tension between the two
countries was during the civil war, when the Israeli Honorary
Consul was kidnapped and murdered by guerillas.
Bibliography: J. Beller, Jews in Latin America (1969), 42–45.
Add. Bibliography: Y. Govrin, Bi-Tefuẓot ha-Golah, 16 (1975),
130–32; D. Kranzler, The Man Who Stopped the Trains to Auschwitz
(2000). Website: http://www.ujcl.org/espanol/elsalvador/.
[Alfred Joseph / Margalit Bejarano (2nd ed.)]
ELTE, HARRY (1880–1944), Dutch architect of buildings
with a Jewish (ritual) function in the interwar years; also active
as a restorer and project developer. He came to prominence
when he won a design competition for a stadium that
opened in Amsterdam in 1914. His work was influenced by
three architectural styles. His early work, including villas and
residential complexes in Amsterdam, reflects the influence
of the Berlage School (1900–25). Examples of his Amsterdam
School style (1910–30) include the Second Synagogue
in The Hague, demolished in 1981, and the Amsterdam nursing
home De Joodsche Invalide (Jewish Invalid), both dating
from 1924–25. International Expressionism (1920–30) influenced
his design for the monumental synagogue on Amsterdam’s
Jacob Obrechtplein (1927–28), considered Elte’s finest
achievement. Its Cubist architecture, featuring characteristic
colors and use of daylight, reflects the influence of American
architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The interior decoration is Art
Deco, with beautiful materials and warm colors. While most
of the 12 synagogues Elte completed between 1904 and 1932
have since been demolished or converted for some other purpose,
the Obrecht Shul continues to serve as a synagogue. It
was granted historical monument status and completely restored
in 1997. Elte was deported to Theresienstadt in February
1944, where he died on April 1, 1944.
Bibliography: L. van Grieken a.o., in: Negentigste Jaarboek
van het Genootschap Amstelodamum (1998), 159–95; R. Wischnitzer,
Architecture of the European Synagogue (1964), 99, 232–36, 262.
[Julie-Marthe Cohen (2nd ed.)]
ELTEKEH (Heb. אֵ קְּ תְלֶ א, הֵ קְּ תְלֵ א), levitical city in the territory
of Dan (Josh. 19:44; 21:23; but according to TJ, Sanh. 1:2, 18c
“of Judah”). It was in the “plain of Eltekeh (written: Altaqû)”
that *Sennacherib in 701 B.C.E. defeated the Egyptians who
had come to the aid of the rebelling king of Judah Hezekiah
and his allies. The battle is described in Sennacherib’s annals
(1:76–79). *Albright proposed identifying Eltekeh with
Khirbet al-Muqannaʿ, 6 mi. (10 km.) S.E. of ʿĀqir, but recent
surveys have shown that this was the largest fortified city in
the area and probably the site of *Ekron. Mazar has consequently
suggested Tell al Shallāf, about 2½ mi. (4 km.) N.E.
of Jabneh, where potsherds from the Early and Late Iron Age
have been found.
ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 6 369