The United Torah Judaism list of the large Ashkenazic
community of Buenos Aires, Argentina received 20% of the
votes in the community elections making it the second largest
party, an accomplishment which will influence the entire
community in the forthcoming years.
Buenos Aires has a Jewish community comprised of both
Sephardic and Ashkenazic members. There are 200,000 people in
the community altogether, 50,000 of whom are registered as
members and pay dues. The Ashkenazic sector is the largest
and the dominant one.
The Reform, had a sizable representation in the previous
elections, and used their position to undermine the basic
Jewish matters of personal status such as divorce, marriage,
and burial.
This time, the Reform did not even run in the elections, to
the great satisfaction of the chareidi community.
A source in the community told Yated Ne'eman that the
decrease in the influence of the Reform movement is the
result of the collapse of the Beniholm Bank. Jewish
businessmen and activists tried to save this bank due to
their fear of antisemitic reactions, and thereby indirectly
caused the collapse of the largest Jewish bank, called the
Mayo Bank. The Reform in Argentina are held responsible for
these developments.
The final tally of the votes showed that the Labor party
(including the Argentinean branch of Meretz) received 48% of
all the votes; UTJ received 20%; the Independent Zionist list
10%; Likud 10%, and the Religious Party, 9%.
The UTJ campaign was conducted under the guidance of HaRav
Shmuel Arye Levine, in accordance with directives received
from the gedolei haTorah in Eretz Yisroel. With the
new council, the faithful Jewish community of Argentina hopes
to be able to preserve Jewish traditions and halacha in all
areas of communal responsibility.
