Background information and articles of interest on the “Incan” Jewish communities in Peru
This article contains information on all three communities in Peru – the Amazon Jews in the cities of Iquitos and Tarapoto; the Bnei Moshe; and the larger Jewish community of Lima. Click here to view the article.
The New York Times ran an extensive article on the Amazon Jewish community. You can read it here.
Lubavitch Rabbi Myron Zuber writes in great detail about the Incan Jewish community in this article entitled “Converting Incan Jews in Peru.” Rabbi Zuber describes the journey of the Villanueva brothers and focuses particular attention on the Lima Jewish community’s non-acceptance of the Incan Jews. The Incan Jews built their own tefillin (phylacteries) out of wood and constructed a Sefer Torah out of photocopied pages, Zuber writes. Zuber and his wife visited the community several times over the years to teach normative Jewish practice, sources and songs while still respecting Incan traditions.