Jewish Life on the Pacific: The Jews of Peru

This chapter is an overview of the contemporary situation of the small Jewish community of Peru, the third-largest country in South America. It considers the structure of the organized community in Lima, which serves and represents the Peruvian descendants of historical Jewish immigrants, Jews by conversion, and new Jewish immigrants coming from Israel and other parts of Latin America. The community as a whole has experienced an upward, collective process of social mobility that is particularly meaningful against the backdrop of Peru’s postcolonial, racial hierarchy entering the twenty-first century. The chapter also addresses the ways in which religious and cultural practices are being kept amidst polarizing trends within Judaism in the region and a shrinking population.