February 3, 2017 – Montevideo, Uruguay - 2017 Cruise to South America & Cape Horn

February 3, 2017 – Montevideo, Uruguay Jewish Heritage Tour and City Tour

Docked in Montevideo, Uruguay and decided to take a “Jewish Heritage” Tour. Since this was the only port that offered such a tour, we thought there must be some interesting history here. The population of Uruguay is about 3.5 million with a Jewish population numbering about 50,000 so there is a sizable community. The first Jews arrived in the area having immigrated from Spain to avoid the inquisition and there has been a steady flow ever since. Another large influx occurred during the programs of the Czarist Russia. The final large influx was just before and shortly after World War II. Montevideo has the only Holocaust Memorial in South America. There are presently 8 synagogues in Montevideo, 3 in Punta del Este and a few scattered around Uruguay. The country loses about 3% of its Jewish population to Israel every year as it is a very Zionist population that believes that living in Israel and building a Jewish nation is the proper goal for a Jew. There are presently more Uruguayan Jews in Israel than there are in Uruguay! At the Holocaust Memorial we learned that there was one Uruguayan Jew who perished. A young lady named Ann Belag had traveled to Lithuania to visit her ailing mother. While there, she and her mother were captured by the Nazis and she died in Auschwitz. There is a plaque commemorating her death at the memorial.

   

     Theatre, a huge satellite dish on apartment balcony and U.S. Embassy Montevideo

    

Sightseeing along the La Rambla, the main street along the ocean.

Next we stop at the Holocaust Memorial located on the La Rambla.  It is made of pink granite with a window looking out to the sea.  A pair of railway rails and features the Bridge of Doubt, a walkway designed to encourage visitors to contemplate the fate of European Jews.

      

       

   

               We noticed that we had a police escort along side or behind the bus for the entire tour.  It was a relief along with being a little afraid that something could happen as they have had some anti-Semitic vandalism in recent years.  Back on the bus to visit a synagogue.

Along the way is an amusement park, city tour and more buildings in the city.

           

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We visited two synagogues.

This is the first on

                 

The second synagogues, one the largest in Montevideo where a very charismatic rabbi spoke to us, then finished our visit at a Jewish school. A very interesting day learning the Jewish history in this country. Education in Uruguay is free from kindergarten through the university level

         

City Tour  - Soccer Stadium, built in 1930 to host the 1930 FIFA World Cup. the Capacity if 76,000 and record attendance is 79,867 in 1930 cost $1,000,000

   

 

More city tour then back to the ship.