American Jewish Archives Journal, Vol 44, No. 01 (1992)

258 American Tewish Archives
of Alexandria, Aaron Angel, arrived in Buenos Aires in 1958, where
he became the spiritual leader of the Balkan Sephardic community."
Brazil also absorbed a relatively large number of Jewish families
from North Africa during these years. This was due to the liberal
immigration policy, favorable to admitting refugees, that was adopt-
ed by President Juscelino Kubitschek and continued by subsequent
administrations. Thus for the period 1955-57, about 1,ooo Jewish fam-
ilies from Morocco were allowed to enter in groups of fifty and to set-
tle away from the large cities. In later years additional Moroccan Jews
settled in Brazil.@
Sephardim and Ashkenazim: Subgroup Identities in Decline
We have already stressed that the cosmopolitan character of Jewish
migration to Latin America facilitated the creation of separate institu-
tions by the different groups along lines of place of provenance. This
was more accentuated in the larger communities. But with the pass-
ing of more than half a century, the differences have become less sig-
nificant, and an overall identification as Jews and with Judaism in the
most inclusive sense has become more prevalent. This decline in sub-
group identities can be seen throughout the continent, and in all
aspects of Jewish life, including religious practices, Zionist activities,
and Jewish education and culture.
The Sephardic immigrants, by and large, preserved stronger links
with religious practices than the Ashkenazim. Quite naturally, there
were differences among the various Sephardic communities of origin.
The Syrian Jewish communities in Latin America had the strongest
attachment to religious values. Their respective religious schools
emphasized the teaching of Jewish observances and customs. In
Buenos Aires, where the largest concentration of Syrians had settled,
a strong rabbinic presence was established as early as 1912 with the
arrival of Hacham Shaul Setton to lead the local Aleppine communi-
ty. A recognized authority on Jewish law, Setton was respected in his
home community of Aleppo and had the support of the chief rabbis
of Palestine for his responsa.
The Ladino-speaking Jews from the Balkans, though Orthodox as
well, were not as staunchly observant as the Syrians. Their knowledge