150 Years of Jewish Life in Panama
Rabbi Dennis C. Sasso
The Jewish community of Panama, the oldest in Central America, celebrates this month the 150th Anniversary of its founding.
The beginnings of Jewish history in the Americas are as old as the discovery of the New World, when Spanish Jews expelled from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492 by Ferdinand and Isabella, arrived seeking refuge from the Inquisition. They would not be able to live openly as Jews in the Spanish and Portuguese controlled territories. Thus, it was in the Dutch, Danish, and British Caribbean isles that these Sephardic Jews would find a home. It was from these settlements that the Panamanian Jewish community would grow.
In 1821 Panama became independent from Spain and was annexed to Colombia. Free of Inquisitional oversight, it now became possible for Jews to settle in the Isthmus. Some came during the construction of the first transcontinental railroad during the years of the California Gold Rush. A Benevolent Society was organized in 1852. Following an earthquake that devastated St. Thomas, V.I., in 1867, numerous Jewish families moved to Panama and, together with co-religionists who had arrived from Curacao and Jamaica, set the basis for organized Jewish life. Congregation Kol Shearith Israel, “The Voice of the Remnant of lsrael,” was founded in 1876 as the first synagogue in the city of Panama. Some years later, Kahal Kadosh Yangakov, the “Holy Congregation of Jacob,” was founded in the smaller Atlantic side, City of Colon. My great-grandfathers, Colman D. Sasso and Elias Athias Robles were leaders and lay cantors of this congregation. I have fond childhood memories of playing in the sand-covered floors of the synagogue in Colon during services. My family moved to Panama in 1959 where I attended the Jewish day school, Instituto Alberto Einstein and forged my commitment to become a rabbi.
The early Spanish-Portuguese Jews who had emigrated from the Caribbean figured prominently in Panama’s 1903 independence move from Colombia and in the efforts to build the inter-oceanic canal, by the United States, completed in 1914. In addition to the original founders, the Jewish community has grown to include immigrants from the Levant and the Middle East and from Central and Eastern Europe during and after the years of the Nazi Holocaust. Today there are three major synagogues in Panama City, Kol Shearith Israel (Liberal), Shevet Ajim (Sephardic and Mizrachi Orthodox), and Beth-El (Ashkenazi Orthodox) representing the three immigrant groups. There are an estimated 15,000 Jews in Panama. The community boasts eight day-schools, ranging from ultra-orthodox to liberal. It has two large kosher supermarkets patronized by Jews and non-Jews alike, and several dozen kosher restaurants and catering establishments.
Like in all other communities, there have been stressors among Panama’s Jews over the decades, centering primarily on issues of religious observance, intermarriage, and control over educational and communal institutions. Panama and Israel enjoy positive and constructive relations and antisemitism is limited, compared to other Latin American countries. Rabbi Gustavo Kraselnik, the Argentinian born dynamic spiritual leader of Kol Shearith Israel, engages in fruitful interfaith dialogue with the Catholic Church and other religious groups, including the diverse indigenous communities. Immigrants from South America, Israel, and North American expats continue to enlarge the diverse and vibrant community.
Panamanian Jews have played a foundational and unique role in their nation’s life. The Republic of Panama has had not one but two Jewish Presidents: Max Delvalle Levy-Maduro (at whose funeral I was called upon to officiate in December of 1979) and Max’s nephew, Eric Arturo Delvalle, who in the early 90’s challenged the authority of Noriega and was ousted by the later deposed dictator.
But even more telling than the political role of Jews in the country, is the fact that Panama has elected various Jewish Carnival Queens. The first, Emmy Cardoze, was the granddaughter of Rabbi David Cardoze Fidnaque (1824-1914) of St. Thomas and daughter of Panama’s first Jewish mayor, Moises Cardoze. The current mayor of Panama City, Mayer Mizrachi Matalon, is an active member of the Jewish community.
Prominent Panamanian historic personalities include Joshua Lindo, an important figure in the 1903 independence effort and the early canal negotiations. David Brandon was the founder of the National Firefighters Association. At his funeral, the bells of the National Catholic Cathedral chimed in recognition of his heroic and humanitarian efforts. Dr. Herbert De Castro founded the Panama Symphonic Orchestra. Eduardo Maduro authored the popular patriotic song, “Marcha Panama,” virtually a second national anthem. Dr. Ezra Hurwitz and Aida De Castro Hurwitz were founders and caretakers of the Lepers Colony in Panama. The Maryknoll Sister submitted Aida’s name for beatification by the Catholic Church, unaware that the saintly woman was a believing and practicing Jew!
As the first Panamanian born Rabbi, I had the honor of being the keynote speaker at the events marking the 100th and the125th anniversaries of Kol Shearith Israel. It will now be my privilege to celebrate with the community again, this time along with my younger Panamanian cousin and colleague, Rabbi David Cohen-Henriquez (Congregation Shir Chadash of New Orleans), at the 150th Anniversary of this community that wears its religious heritage proudly even as it participates openly in the civic and cultural life of this sunny, warm and welcoming tropical crossroads of Jewish history.
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