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Salito Shalom

The day of our tour there was a memorial service for the people who were murdered  by the suicide bomber who drove a truck into Buenos Aires' Jewish Community Centre. People planted a red rose for each victim and lit a candle in their memory. This event was not on the official tour but Salito knew about it and took us there.  How can you not be moved by parents now living without their children?
 We also saw a synagogue that activist and rabbi Marshall Meyer founded and talked with Salito throughout the tour. I used to work as a tour guide and I usually don't like tours because guides are often operating on "auto pilot" like robots. Salito was a real guy! and an excellent guide. The tour was definitely a highlight of our stay and I would do it again--only book six hours instead of three!
Lesley and Mark 

Toronto,ON Canada

We thoroughly enjoyed our tour: Salito was warm as an old friend and provided us with not only “ text book” information but with many anecdotes  which made our tour so interesting. To have been a witness at the memorial service was an honour: I was president of the Jewish school in Montreal which had been firebombed in 2004 so this was even more meaningful.

Suggestions? We would have liked to see the new Jewish area(s) and perhaps have had the opportunity to walk around in Once and taste some of the traditional Buenos Aires Jewish foods. Even we understand was our mistake by booking only 3 hours instead of 6 hours tour.

We enjoyed ourselves, learned a lot and made a new connection to the Jewish world in Buenos Aires.

L’hitraot.

Rachel & Marty

Montreal, Canada

We had a wonderful day with Salito! He was very informative and his manner was friendly and warm. He made our trip to Buenos Aires memorable.
Thank you.
Sandra & Bernie

Richmond, BC, Canada

Dear Salito
It was a wander-full experience ,your guidance and input were significant in understanding the events of 1992 and 1994 in Buenos Aires , and the life of the Jewish community in Argentina. A town called "MOSHEVILLE" was impressive.
Thank you very much.
Best regards
Miriam, Pinhas & Leor Bk
Detroit, MI,  USA
Salito!!
So sorry for taking so long to get back to you about the tour you gave us while we were in Buenos Aires.  We were delayed in getting back to the United States due to the earthquake in Chile, we actually remained on the ship and sailed back to Buenos Aires.  When we came home I unfortunately had a very bad sinus infection and I'm just now feeling better.  Both Michael and I loved each and every moment of your tour, it was the highlight of our time spent in Buenos Aires!!  We were able to get a wonderful sense of the Jewish community in Buenos Aires and especially enjoyed our visit to AMIA as well as your synagogue which was just beautiful.  Just so you know, I gave my son and daughter in-law the information to contact you.  They are going to Buenos Aires in June for a two week trip and asked about our tour of Jewish BA.  As it turns out one of my daughter in-law's friends has also taken this tour with you and her comments on Facebook were wonderful too. I'm hoping that Alan and Karen contact you, I'm sure they will.  I know they will enjoy the tour as much as we did.
Once again, sorry for the delay in getting back to you.
warm regards,
Jeralyn & Michael 

Las Vegas, NV, USA

Buenas tardes, Salito.
Thanks again for your expertise and hospitality.  The tour was terrific, and we will recommend you to anyone we know planning to visit Argentina.  You are a true "renaissance man" - historian, politico, philosopher, comedian.
The close friend I mentioned to you who had written on Argentinean politics and economics was Larry Levine.  He died not long after the book was published.  The name of the book is:  INSIDE ARGENTINA - from Peron to Menem - 1950-2000 from an American Point of View.  by Laurence W. Levine.
I found it to be a fascinating read.  If you come across it, I would like to hear your thoughts on it.
Best of luck to you, and thanks again.                                                                                                                                                         Steve & Arlene G                                                                                                                                                                                             San Diego, CA, USA
Shalom and Buenos tardes,
Speaking for Joan and myself, we have toured most of the world, usually with a private guide. We both agree that we have never had a nicer, more informed and more passionate person guiding us. You are a very important reason our vacation the Argentina was as enjoyable as it was. We would not hesitate to recommend you to anyone we know (in fact I have already passed your information on the my travel agent Arnie G) We wish you every success and joy in the future.
Best wishes,
Joan and Irwin K                                                                                                                                                                                       Boca Raton, FL USA
Shalom Salito....
Thank you so much for making my Sunday 6 hours a most memorable experience.  Your tour of Jewish Buenos Aires provided me a clear understanding of the history of Jews in Argentina, how they got there and why they settled where they did.  You were able to clearly tell the story up to the present as to why the numbers have dwindled.  You provided the personal emotional experiences of the tragedies of Embassy and Jewish Community Center.  
My visit to Buenos Aires will be remembered by you and the tour.
Howard L                                                                                                                                                                                             Cleveland, OH, USA
Hola Salito,
We thoroughly enjoyed our tour with you.  Our favorite parts were visiting the memorials and the synagogue. We don't have any suggestions at the moment but if we think of any, we'll send them along.
Many thanks,
Renee W.                                                                                                                                                                                                     Los Angeles, CA, USA

Shalom Salito!
Thanks for the email. I had a great time on our tour. I really enjoyed the tour and I liked how you included personal experiences from your family. I also appreciate your flexibility in trying to find my cousin. You will be happy to know that we did find him on Facebook! His first name turned out to be Juan. We are now in touch and will plan to speak soon.
I thought Amia was interesting, but could have done without the video at the end. Everyone thing else was very enjoyable.
Thanks!
Lauren S.                                                                                                                                                                                                   NYC, NY, USA

Dear Salito,
Susan and I very much enjoyed meeting  you and appreciated your presentation of the history of the Jewish community in Argentina.  Your dedication is apparent and impressive.  Your tour was certainly a highlight of our visit to Buenos Aires.  Although we would have liked to have visited Libertade and/or Beth El synagogues as well as the sites you showed us, we were extremely satisfied with your services and will confidently recommend you to guide others who seek the special experience you provided to us.  We thank YOU.
Shalom.     Sandra
PS  Because of our shared interest in Rabbi Marshall Meyer, I mention that his papers were donated to Duke University (where his nephew, Professor Eric Meyers, teaches} last year.  There is considerable information about his remarkable life and efforts on behalf of human rights on the internet if you want to follow-up on that event.
Shalom                                                                                                                                                                                                       We had a great tour......your tour leader was great, knowledgeable, very friendly and easy to communicate with
Sam  and Cynthia G.                                                                                                                                                                          Toronto, ON CANADA
Shalom,
We had a great time. I have no complaints!!! We loved your city and Salito gave us personal attention.  We will recommend you in the future.  I work for a travel agency in Chicago, Illinois and will be sharing our experience with my coworkers.
Thanks,
Renee S.                                                                                                                                                                                             Chicago, IL USA
Shalom Salito:
Hazel and I enjoyed being with you and appreciate everything that you were able to show us in your lovely city. Your enthusiasm and Yiddishkeit enhanced our experience. We can't think of anything that would improve the excellent service that you provided us.
We hope to return to BA in the next year or so to enjoy the city ,see the JCC and some Shuls and to travel north to spend a couple of days at Iguasu falls. Sincerely yours,                                                                                                                                                               Peter & Hazel P. 
Newport Beach, California  USA
Hello Salito,
It has taken me forever to draft this article on the Jewish Community in Buenos Aires and of course, now that it is in draft form, my daughter would like it for the Passover issue of her newspaper.  I would be very grateful if you could look the article over and tell me if I have the facts correct.... and the emphasis in the right place.  I hope you will see that I was listening carefully to what you shared with Ted and I but I do want to know that it is correct.  The writing is still a bit rough but I wanted to get this to you before more time went by.
I have not right to ask you to hurry with this but I will ask anyways as I do not wish to miss her publishing deadline which will be this Sunday. By the way, I have wonderful pictures from much of the morning together and I know that she will choose several.
I wish you and your family a frailich Pesach
Warmly,
Karen                                                                                                                                                                                                  Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA

Argentinean Jewish community 

February,2010

Buenos Aires is the largest city in Argentina and estimates of its current population range from three to 11 million, depending on how many suburban areas are included in the count. At its peak, the Jewish community in the entire country was 500,000, making it the largest Spanish-speaking Jewish population in the world. Today, there are about half that many in Argentina, and the Jewish population of Buenos Aires is about 165,000. About 75 percent of Jewish migration has been from Ashkenazi communities; the remaining 25 percent are Ladino-speaking Sephardi Jews.

The first Jewish migration to Argentina occurred in the late 1880s and brought Russians Jews from the Ukraine. These Jews were able to escape the pogroms in Europe and were helped by the Jewish Colonization Association, established by Baron Maurice Hirsch. Hirsch’s benevolence provided these pioneers with land and tools in exchange for a loan that they were expected to pay with future crops. The first wave of these immigrants passed quickly through Buenos Aires and onto a settlement in Sante Fe province, 750 kilometres from the city. There, they established the community of Moisesville. Some were already agricultural workers but many had to learn to work the land from scratch. In the Association Mutual Israeli Argentina (AMIA) building and the Museum of the Shoah, there are pictures of Jewish “gauchos,” sitting astride horses, peyes streaming from the sides of their faces. One can imagine them in the local cafe, drinking the local drink, and speaking Yiddish.

The Buenos Aires Jewish community today is about 20 percent Orthodox, which means that there are at least 35,000 potential patrons for the many kosher restaurants, butchers and other services required by observant Jews. About 30 percent of the community considers itself to be either Conservative or Reform, and about 50 percent are unaffiliated.

The central area within Buenos Aires, Once (pronounced On-say), bounded by Avenida Cordoba, Junin, Avenida Rivadavia and Avenida Pueyrredon streets, is where many Jews live and have their businesses. A Jewish person owns the largest mall in the city (Abasto Mall), which has a mezuzah on its door post, as well as the only kosher McDonald’s in the city. Strolling through Once, one can see evidence of a rich Jewish life: kosher restaurants, Jewish bookstores, publishers, butchers, and synagogues.

Notwithstanding evidence of a rich Jewish life, this is a community that still bears many scars. During the time of the military dictatorship in the 1970s, when people simply “disappeared” at the hands of the Junta (military-led government), Jews were 0,5% of the general population, but Jewish young adults compromised about 5% of the population who went missing and whose bodies have never been found. Some feel that the disproportionate losses may have been because, during the Junta, more Jews stood up for justice and, ultimately, their children paid the price. In the 1970s, anti-junta demonstrations took place in a large plaza, the Plaza de Mayo, opposite the government’s Rose Palace. For the last 40 years, since the “disappeared” were taken, a group of mothers (and now their daughters and granddaughters) has demonstrated peaceably in the Plaza. On our trip to Argentina, my husband and I came upon a group of these women and, in halting Spanish, asked if we might take their picture and told them that, as parents, we felt for them. They unfurled their banner for the photo, pressed some literature upon us and held our hands for a moment.

The founder of the  Madres (Mothers) des Plaza de Mayo – Renee Epelbaum – is a well known Jewish woman who lost all three of her children. According to the book The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo (Madres de Plaza de Mayo) by Marjorie Agosin, Epelbaum’s son Luis disappeared in 1976, son Claudio and daughter Lila were abducted four months later. Disappearances and kidnappings were a systematic practice designed by the junta to neutralize the political and social mobilization of citizens against repressive dictatorships. Some 30,000 people are believed to have disappeared in Argentina, where the military took over after Juan Peron in 1976 and the “Dirty War” began – its first victims were labor union members, university activists, journalists, but then the abductions became random.

Another scar was created in 1992, when the Israeli embassy located in central Buenos Aires was bombed. Twenty-nine died, as did five Catholics, who were in the church that abutted the building. The embassy was rebuilt in a new location, There is a stone monument in its original location – with a small glade of tilo trees planted within it. A  guide giving us a tour of “Jewish Buenos Aires”  explained that the tilo tree is known to have calming qualities and that these trees were chosen as a message to the victims that they should rest in peace. No one has ever been brought to justice for this bombing.

Another attack occurred in 1994, when a suicide bomber ploughed into the Jewish federation (AMIA) building, killing 85 people. The building has subsequently been rebuilt, further in from the street and with heavy security. Outside the building, the first names of the 85 who were lost are written on a tableau in a style that almost looks like graffiti. We were not  permitted to take a photograph of the tableau but our guide explained that there are no last names on the tableau because all who died are held by the community to be “ family.” There are small memorial headstones with the names of the victims lining the street by the new building. The death toll would have been much higher had the additional 300 wounded not been quickly evacuated to a hospital within two blocks of the AMIA. As with the 1992 bombing, no one has ever been brought to justice.

When life is like for the Jews within the country, our guide said, “Even there are not restricted laws against Jews, We know that we are not welcome in and by the government. There are a couple of Jewish congressmen and some Jewish judges but there are still some sports and cultural institutions where Jews know they are not   welcome. We know that those who bombed the embassy and the Federation building could not have acted alone and that finding them has not been a priority for the government. The response of the community has been to ask for justice and to grow our own institutions.  But life goes on, and then we are still an active comunity

In addition to the terrorist threats, Argentina has experienced several economic crises, which have affected Jews as deeply as they have other. Many left the country during these crises, which has reduced the size of the community.

Other dimensions of today’s Jewish community

In Buenos Aires, the AMIA Centre, is clearly the heartbeat of the community.  AMIA started 116 years ago. Its mission is “to promote the individual, family and institutional growth of Jewish life in Argentina to ensure continuity, sustain the values of the Jewish people and underpin the sense of community”.  Among AMIA’s activities are a variety of social services that are delivered to both Jewish and non-Jewish clients, including training programs to assist those in need of assistance finding employment. AMIA is largely funded by the community itself, although the government or a private company will occasionally contribute funds in support of an activity. On the  day we toured the building, there was evidence of  the many dimensions of community: social service agencies with headquarters in the building, the Chevra Kaddusha society,  a poster exhibit about the early roots of the community,  a kosher restaurant , community arts hall , a gift store and some beautiful and unique  artistic installations. The most breathtaking of these is the piece entitled “Monument to the Memory of the Victims of the Terrorist Attack on AMIA” by Yaacov Agam, a world renowned Israeli plastic artist.  AMIA’s brochure Visiting the Jewish Community in Argentina describes the piece “as a visual prayer that becomes a symbol against terrorism and a permanent expression of the Jewish people’s struggle for truth, justice and peace”.  The installation is a series of  9 vertical, highly colorful planks. When the observer moves around the installation, the colors and shapes turn into changing images drawn from Judaism . Among these are the image of Chanukah, a reminder that miracles are possible, a rainbow , which was God’s gift to Noah and all living creatures after the flood and  the international symbol of AMIA itself, representing a community which is once more standing drawing on its own strength. There is also the intertwined images of flags of both Israel and Argentina.

Our tour of Jewish Buenos Aries also included a visit to the beautiful 91 year old Gran Templo Paso, an Orthodox synagogue with a familiar story within the community. In recent years, it began to lose members and decided to accommodate those who wanted a more modern and conservative- leaning interpretation of rituals. When that shift stirred up other issues, the synagogue reverted to orthodox practice.   One of the most moving moments was seeing the numbers of Sefer Torahim  for which the synagogue is now the keepr. Many of these  Torah scrolls  belong  to rural synagogues which are no longer in regular use because the Jews have migrated to larger centers.  We were told that many of them are returned to the communities for the High Holidays when attendance is at a maximum

Buenos Aires has a small and elegant Museum of the Shoah.  On the day that we attended, there was a beautiful photographic display of survivors of the camps taken within recent years when most were quite elderly.  Even line, every wrinkle, every tilt of a chin told a story. The permanent collection includes considerable information, the conditions leading up to the War and the hardships endured by  the Jews in the camps. 

Beyond what we were shown and sought out for ourselves, my husband and I felt a Jewish presence throughout our trip. Walking in the neighbourhood  where we had rented an apartment one Friday evening,  we were waiting for a street light to change and found ourselves  standing beside a young man with a beard and kippuh, his wife and baby.  Within a moment of my saying “Shabbat Shalom” , we were  welcomed to the city and invited to one of the Chabad’s community events later that week.  

The Canadian Jewish News, February 9, 2006 / The Toronto National Post / The Vancouver Sun, August 16, 2007

A tour of Jewish Buenos Aires –with love

By NANCY WINSTON

Special to

The Canadian Jewish News, February 9, 2006 / The Toronto National Post / The Vancouver Sun, August 16, 2007

BUENOS AIRES — First we meet for coffee. In Buenos Aires, where cafés dot every corner and frequently appear mid-block too, little is discussed without a bracing shot of caffeine. My contact for a personal tour of the city’s Jewish sites, Salito “little Sal” Gutt, is a most genial fellow, whose tours express his knowledge of, and love for, the city where he was born and raised. Like all Argentines, Salito has known hard economic times. After two successful years in New York (following in his father’s footsteps, his area of expertise was sewing machine mechanics) , he decided that “money is important, but not enough for my life.” So he returned home to his beloved Buenos Aires. Facing new competition from Asia, he switched from sewing machines to importing, but a plummeting local economy coupled with punishing exchange rates defeated him. “I discovered I am poor.” He grins. What to do? ”I have my car. I speak English.” Thus began Salito's personalized tours; after two years, at the suggestion of American friends, he began specializing in Jewish Buenos Aires. Salito's family story, like so many in this country, begins with immigration. After fleeing persecution in Ukraine, his grandparents arrived in Buenos Aires in 1923. “The doors were open,” their grandson says simply. Life was good for many in the early 20th century; the country and its capital, Buenos Aires, the “Paris of the Americas,” became home to the largest Jewish community in the New World after New York, numbering half a million at its peak. But recent times have proven more perilous. In 1992, the Israeli Embassy was bombed and, in’94, a powerful explosion targeted the Jewish Community Center, AMIA. Deaths from the first attack numbered 29, from the second, 85. Hundreds more were injured. Today, the Jewish community numbers around 250,000 with 166,000 in Buenos Aires, but fear of a third attack is not the reason behind the reduced numbers. Rather, the economy in the early part of the new century proved too challenging, with hyperinflation, currency devaluation, and the freezing of bank accounts by the state. Even today, as things return to normal, many portents(port dwellers, as city dwellers are nicknamed) seem a bit shell-shocked. Thousands of Jews took up offers from Israel and departed; others left for Miami, Spain and Canada. But not Salito Gut. This is his city, a city of stories, and at last he has found the perfect job. Our tour begins, with Salito behind the wheel, frequently wandering off-topic, then returning to his main theme, with a dramatic, “Let’s focus!” He delivers his overview – “This is the story, not literal what I’m telling you” – of the late 19th-century efforts of an Austrian, Baron de Hirsch, to rescue European Jews and settle them in the countryside, “in the middle of nowhere.” Many of the new communities failed, since most Jews had no background in farming, having not been allowed to own land in Europe.

Continued from page ......

This story concludes with our first stop: the memorial to the 1992 Israeli Embassy attack, on a corner in the upscale Ricoletta neighborhood. A section of the original wall remains exposed; a moat of stones surrounds us; the names of the dead are listed on a plaque; and two rows of shady “tilo” trees provide shade for the victims – not all of whom were Jewish, but included neighbors and passersby. The new embassy, on the 10th floor of an office building, is well secured, as are all Buenos Aires Jewish sites. No picture taking of exteriors is permitted and advance permission is necessary (with passport numbers) for entry to religious or community institutions. This shady embassy memorial is popular for quiet contemplation all year. At 3 p.m. every March 17, the anniversary of the 1992 bombing is observed. Salito recounts one particularly sad occasion when a tearful young girl, aged 16, who lost her mother here when she was only six, asked why this had happened. Where was justice? No one could answer her. After the 1994 bombing, a group called the Active Memory Movement started meeting in front of the Supreme Court every Monday at 9.30 a.m., “for justice and prayer.” . We next pull up outside the downtown Reform temple, the “Libertad,” a lovely old building, where Salito warns me not to take photos lest my camera be seized. Then we’re off to the bustling old Jewish business district of Once (pronounced on-say), its streets lined with small businesses – many with mezuzot on the entrances – most selling clothing or cloth by the meter. The neighborhood is also home to a half-dozen kosher restaurants and several bakeries; a nearby shopping mall offers a kosher McDonald’s. Looking in vain for a free parking spot, Salito jokes, “Moshe parted the Red Sea, maybe he could find me a parking spot?” No such luck. Under a brilliant sun, we park in a lot and head over to the well-secured, thriving new AMIA center, one of four community centers in the city.

Continued from page ........

Afterward, Salito takes me to into a beautiful old Conservative temple, the Paso St. Synagogue. The 1919 building is a gem, exquisite with old woodwork, stained-glass windows, marble and brass, and the interiors lit with large antique chandeliers. “I was bar-mitzvah in this place,” says Salito, “and each time I come here – maybe once a week – I remember being small and standing here, my father and grandfather nearby and my mother and grandmother on the first floor throwing me candies, for a sweet life.” As the premier Spanish-speaking Jewish community in the New World, Buenos Aires became a center for translation from Hebrew into Spanish. Holy books translated into Spanish are still exported from here all over Latin America. There are religious schools too. Salito adds, with pride, “Rabbis, cantors, mohels, we also export them.” He shows me the daily service written in phonetic Spanish (as well as Hebrew and Spanish) for those who never learned Hebrew, another rarity.

For more information, contact Salito’s Tours www.jewish-tours.com.ar ; Sigal’s Bookstore: Av. Corrientes 2854, (1193) Buenos Aires www.libreria-sigal.com

The Canadian Jewish News, February 9, 2006 / The Toronto National Post / The Vancouver Sun, August 16, 200

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