Earthquake in Chile destroys synagogue

The Masorti synagogue in Concepcion was reported destroyed in the destrution caused by the 8.8 magnitude that rocked Chile Feb. 27.

Chilean casualties were estimated to total 800 as of March 4, but no casualties were reported among the 16,000 members of the Chilean Jewish community and damage to other Jewish institutions was minimal, according to initial reports.

“In Concepcion, close to the epicenter of the earthquake, Rabbi Angel Kreiman told us that he went to the synagogue, and ‘it was like the hurban habayit (destruction of the temple), the walls were all cracked and the roof had fallen down. I couldn’t stay there, so I got the sifrei Torah and left,’” said Rabbi Tzvi Graetz, the head of the international Masorti Olami (Conservative movement).

Chabad-Lubavitch, which has an outpost in Santiago, saw some structural damage to its building, but the organization wrote on its website that the Jewish communities along the Pacific coast of Chile “emerged largely unscathed.”

Marcelo Lewkow, the national director of ORT Chile, reported that while he was unaware of any casualties within the Jewish community, it has been impossible to assess the damage to any of the 13 schools the organization is partnered within the country.

“Communication is very difficult: there are aftershocks daily, telephone links have yet to be fully restored and traveling there is all but impossible while the area is under military control with, in some places, an 18-hour curfew. I haven’t been able to speak to anyone at the schools yet.”

ORT America has opened an emergency appeal to help victims of the Chilean earthquake at www. ortamerica.org.

Both Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews live in Chile, primarily in Santiago, and according to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the community supports a JCC, two Jewish day schools and synagogues.

The Masorti website states that most Jews in Chile identify with its movement. It operates six congregations in Chile — four in Santiago, one in Vina del Mar, and the one in Concepcion.

Masorti has started a relief fund, which will be sent directly to the rabbis and congregations in Chile for assistance both to the Jewish and general communities. To make a donation, go to www.masortiworld. org.

The JDC, which receives funds from the Jewish Federations of North America, also has opened a mailbox to collect money for the relief effort, and says it will work with the Chilean community to direct the assistance. Go to www. jdc.org/donation.

“We are waiting,” a JDC spokesman said. “In terms of Santiago, there was minimal structural damage to institutions. It is a very strong, self-sufficient community.”

The American Jewish World Service, which has played a prominent role in the relief effort in Haiti, is not planning on setting up operations in Chile. AJWS is directing its supporters to www.alertnet.org and to MercyCorps.

Unlike in Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries — the AJWS had been working there with a dozen development organizations on the ground prior to the quake —AJWS was not involved in any work in Chile, which is wealthier and much better developed.

The world also seems to have been a bit slower to react in Chile, as the South American nation has the public infrastructure to carry out much of its own rescue effort.

Israel is in contact with its ambassador in Chile, Ynet reported, and the government sent its condolences in a statement. Israel was among the first countries to help in Haiti.

There were no Israelis among the dead in Chile, according to the Israeli government.

“Israel stands by the Chilean government and people and wishes to send its condolences to the victims’ families and offer its support to the residents at this trying time,” the Israeli statement read, according to Ynet.