By Jorge Yoram Torres
I am the newly elected president of the Jewish Communities of Anousim of the Dominican Republic. It is a great opportunity after more than 500 years of persecution to tell the world that we are here and alive. Our purpose is to return to world Jewry, and with the help of HaShem and Kulanu we hope to find our way home soon.
My community has told me "We are tired after this long journey and want to retun with our people."
To me this is all new since I only recently (April 21, 2006) arrived to the Dominican Republic from Canada, where I was a member of the Spanish Portuguese Synagogue in Montreal.
In the Dominican Republic I met a person who told me that
he also was Jewish when he saw me wearing my kippah. I asked him a couple of questions and asked him how many were like him. He told me "a few" and set up a meeting with what I thought was one of the community leaders. But when I arrived at the meeting I found more than 450 people waiting for me! After the meeting with them I was convinced that these people are decendants of
Marranos from Spain and are very serious about their intentions.
Subsequently they have taken me to more communities of hidden people, so that I now know that there are 2000 total who are willing to risk being recognized as Jews. There are countless more, I am told, but 2000 is no small challenge.
Since I am an outsider, I did not want to accept the position as presdent. But because I am an outsider, the community feels that I have better access to the Diaspora they want to join. I will try to do my best. Most people speak Spanish. Not many are at the university. But I still see a very able group of people and the younger generation is very eager, as is the whole community.
But we need help: We need Hebrew educators, religious material, etc. We have set up a dsl line in a house that will be used exclusively as a house of study and a place where we can get VoIP access to Jewish educators who speak Spanish. I can be reached at president@giroexpress.ca.
(Spanish-speaking Jewish Students teachers, as well as persons who have ritual objects to donate, are invited to contact Kulanu’s coordinator for the Dominican Republic, Harry Ezratty, at haelaw@verizon.net.)
