Bidspirit auction | Rare Internal Publication of the

Rare Internal Publication of the Jewish Community in Ecuador Marking the Establishment of the State of Israel – 1948 - La Colonia Israelita en el Ecuador – “The Jewish Community in Ecuador, ” jointly published by the Jewish organizations in Ecuador (Editado por las Organizaciones Israelitas en el Ecuador). Edited by Paul Bendik and Miguel Schwind. Ecuador, 1948. Spanish. Numerous photographs. Extremely rare. An important publication issued after the end of World War II to summarize, document, and present the establishment and development of the Jewish community in Ecuador. The booklet provides a detailed account of Jewish communal life in Ecuador, as well as the community’s contribution to the Zionist enterprise (Ecuador was one of the countries that voted at the United Nations in favor of the establishment of the State of Israel). Between 1933 and 1945, approximately 3,000–4,000 Jewish refugees fleeing Europe arrived in Ecuador, primarily from Germany, Austria, and other regions. The booklet surveys the communal institutions established during those years, foremost among them the Asociación de Beneficencia Israelita (the Jewish mutual-aid association founded in 1938), alongside welfare, cultural, educational, and sports organizations. The publication was intended to present, both internally to members of the community and externally to the Ecuadorian authorities and public, the contribution made by the small Jewish community to the development of industry, medicine, commerce, and culture in the country that had opened its gates to them. The booklet contains detailed documentation of Jewish immigration to Ecuador; industries established by Jews in Ecuador; Jewish artists and scientists; the activities of the Joint in Latin America; active Jewish charitable organizations; religious life; the activities of the Chevra Kadisha in Quito; Jewish sports; the activities of the Zionist Federation of Ecuador; the Association of Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Ecuador; the activities of the Jewish women’s organization in Quito; as well as the contribution of the Jewish community of Ecuador to the Zionist enterprise. Throughout the booklet are numerous photographs documenting the Jewish community in Ecuador and the Zionist enterprise. The final pages contain numerous advertisements for Jewish-owned businesses in Ecuador. Extremely rare. Only one copy is listed in the WorldCat global library catalog. 84, [52] pages. Browned leaves. Wear. Good condition.