Official government and church attitudes toward the Jews, abetted and encouraged by large segments of the population, have resulted in a history which is colorful, dramatic, and profoundly tragic. Discrimination, persecution, and death have been the tolls paid by the descendants of Abraham for fulfilling their covenant with God. In every time and era, the non-Jewish world has rationalized its treatment of Jews through the use of fear, prejudice, and superstition.
The history of Jews in Latin America, which began in the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world of Europe, is a story of Jewish perseverance, ingenuity, courage, and sustaining faith despite inquisitorial hounding. The flames of the autos da fé have long since been quenched, but the embers of ignorance, superstition, and prejudice are still smoldering in many parts of the Spanish-speaking world. The more rural and illiterate the population, the more common are the old beliefs.
