: Juan Domingo Perón eventually allowed Jews to immigrate to Argentina during his leadership.
When most people think of cities with large populations of Jews, they think of Tel Aviv, New York City, Los Angeles, and Jerusalem. Many people do not realize that there is also a significant Jewish population in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In fact, there are more Jews in Argentina than in any other Latin American country. If you are interested in Jewish culture and heritage, you will find that you can learn a great deal about the religion and its people when you attend Spanish school in Argentina.
During the Spanish inquisition, Jews fled persecution. Many of them ended up in Argentina and called themselves “conversos” or “Secret Jews.” In the middle of the 19th century, more European Jews moved into Argentina. Later in the century, Jews who were looking to get away from pogroms in Russia made their way to Argentina. One of the reasons that this Latin American country was so popular among Jews is that its immigration policy was very open. In the early 1900s, about 13,000 Jews came to Argentina each and every year.
Unfortunately, during the time of the Nazis, the Argentinean government enacted some regulations that did not allow many Jews to immigrate. When Juan Peron came into power, he initially sympathized with the Axis Powers and said he admired Mussolini. Ultimately, however, Peron signed a declaration of war against the Nazis. Jews were once again able to immigrate. They were even permitted to run for public office under Peron’s leadership.