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COSTA RICA |
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The
Jewish Experience In Costa Rica
Lynn Farris, Dallas Living Abroad Examiner
While Costa Rica is a Catholic country, it
is considered one of Israel's best friends.
It was among the first countries, in the
United Nations, to vote for for Israeli
statehood. Costa Rica maintains an embassy
in Tel Aviv, having fairly recently moved
from Jerusalem.
It is currently estimated that there are
between 2,500 to 3,000 Jewish people
residing in Costa Rica.
The majority of the Jewish population lives
in the Central Valley in San Jose, Santa
Ana, and Escazú.
Jewish settlers are first thought to have
arrived in Costa Rica during the 16th and
17th centuries as conversos. These are
individuals, that during the inquisition in
Spain and Portugal, were “secret jews” not
allowed to practice their religion freely
for fear of retribution.
The second large group came in the 19th
century and was made up of Sefardic
merchants from Curacao, Jamaica, Panama and
the Caribbean. Both of these early groups
have assimilated and most have abandoned the
practice of Judaism.
A large group of Ashkenazi Jews came during
the 1930's fleeing Hitlers's Europe.
According to Hadassah Magazine, most Costa
Rican Jews during this period came from a
Polish town named Zelechow.
In recent years, Jewish expatriates from the
US are settling in Costa Rica. Additionally,
Israeli transplants are calling Costa Rica
home. Jews from Argentina and Venezuela have
also moved to Costa Rica to avoid the
economic and political instability in those
countries.
Costa Rica is proud to have had two Jewish
Vice Presidents, a Jewish First Lady, and
Jewish members of Congress. The head of the
National Theater and quite possibly the
country's foremost literary figure is Samuel
Rovinski. Indeed the Jewish community has
contributed significantly to Costa Rica.
In the Central Valley, where the majority of
the population resides, there are Kosher
hotels and B&B's, Kosher restaurants and
butchers. Even the popular supermarket,
Automercado, in the Central Valley, carries
Kosher meats. Outside of the Central Valley,
there are many vegetarian options for Kosher
visitors.
Kosher visitors to Costa Rica can obtain
travel assistance from groups such as Kosher
Expeditions and Inward Bound. Rabbi Nachum
Shifren, also known as the Surfing Rabbi,
runs a camp combining daily classes on
Jewish text and surfing lessons.
Lands in Love Hotel and Resort located in
the cloud forest in Alajuela, was developed
by 18 Israeli friends and features one of
the finest gourmet vegetarian restaurants in
the country. They will accommodate almost
any diet need you have including Kosher,
diabetic, gluten free, weight watcher and
vegan. They also arrange Kosher tours.
For more information, contact the
Centro Israelita Sionista de Costa Rica,
which is the oldest and largest Jewish
resource in the country, |
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