Argentina

More than fifty years before Jewish people were readmitted to England under the puritan Oliver Cromwell, in 1656, there were already Jewish people in the Southern Americas.

Today, the Jews of Latin America reside mainly in Argentina (250,000) and Brazil (130,000).

Chosen People Ministries has been active in reaching the Jewish people of South America since the early 1940s. Emanuel Lichtenstein, who served with the society in Nazi-occupied Europe and barely escaped to Buenos Aires himself, began ministering to other Jewish refugees there shortly after his arrival.

In the 1960s, Victor Sedaca, an Argentine Jewish believer in Yeshua took on the leadership torch. Sedaca emphasized reaching out to the Argentine Sephardic Jews. Roberto Passo joined the society in 1982 and served for twenty years. Under his tenure, the work continued to expand its sphere of influence.

Today, Beit Sar Shalom (House of the Prince of Peace), Chosen People Ministries' strategically located Messianic center in Buenos Aires, coordinates the Mission's activities. Under the leadership of Ricardo, the congregational leader and director of Chosen People Ministries' work in South America, Beit Sar Shalom stresses a welcoming environment for Jewish people. In this way, the ministry develops strong bonds of friendship with our Jewish brothers and sisters who are interested in knowing more about Yeshua as the Messiah of Israel.

Beit Sar Shalom carries out a full range of activities, including worship, teaching and evangelism. The congregation also carries on a social program, which includes spiritual counseling in a well-known local hospital. The Mission also has established a seminary, Beit Israel (House of Israel), which offers local classes and also correspondence courses.

Although Buenos Aires is the center of the Jewish life in Argentina, there are also Jewish communities in several other cities. Groups of volunteers serve as a bridge between the ministry center in Buenos Aires and other Jewish Argentine communities by bringing special Gospel-related activities to other cities in Argentina and throughout Latin America on a regular basis.