Hundreds of Venezuelan Jews Gather to Learn About Jewish Culture

( JTA ) — Some 700 Venezuelan Jews participated in the first Limmud Jewish learning and culture event in Caracas, over 10 percent of the country’s Jewish population. The Limmud program on Sunday included tracks for children and teens. “It was thrilling to see grandparents, grandchildren, young adults, students, Sephardim, Ashkenazim, secular, religious, people from every part of the community streaming in,” Anabella de Jaroslavsky, a member of the Limmud Caracas steering group, said in a statement. Some 5,000 to 6,000 Jews live in Venezuela in a total population of 29 million. An estimated 20,000 Jews lived in the Latin American country in 1999, but many have immigrated to Israel, Miami and Spain because of ongoing political, economic and personal security challenges. The daylong Limmud pr