TRAVEL WITH US — Jewish Panama

with David M. Mizrachi Fidanque

The Isthmus of Panama sits at the crossroads of the Americas and is home to its world-famous Canal is one of the busiest trading routes in the world.  Unknown to many, Panama is also home to a thriving Jewish Community dating back over a century. It is perhaps the only country other than Israel to have had two Jewish presidents in the XX Century. Its Jewish Community has existed openly only since the end of Spanish colonial rule in the 1820s. Home to more than 10,000 Jews, it is the largest continuously existing Jewish Community in Central America and the Caribbean. Its members are mostly of Middle Eastern, Ashkenazi and Spanish-Portuguese origins. Most Panamanian Jews can be considered Orthodox.  A majority of the children attend Jewish Day Schools.  It also has one of the highest concentrations of kosher restaurants in the world.  The Panamanian Jewish community has seen consistent demographic growth due to recent arrival of Jews from other Latin-American countries fleeing political and economic instability. My presentation will give a historical, demographic, social, gastronomic, and spiritual visit to this small but outstanding community.

David M. Mizrachi Fidanque was born in Panama, Republic of Panama into a loving family of longtime Jewish Community and pro-Israel activists, particularly in the fields of education, culture and social services. He graduated from Instituto Alberto Einstein, Panama’s oldest Jewish Day School.  During high school, he served on the board of the Macabi Youth Movement of Panama and was awarded the B’nai B’rith Best Young Leader Medal at his graduation.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a Juris Doctor degree from Tulane University Law School and an Executive Master of Law (ELLM) degree from Columbia University Law School and is a Senior Fellow of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School of Harvard University.  David has served as President of Panama’s Central Jewish Community Council, of B’nai B’rith Irving Zapp of Panama and of Panama’s Anti-Defamation Commission.  He was awarded the Community Service Award by the American Jewish Committee, the Lifetime Jewish Leadership Award of B’nai B’rith Panama and the Label Katz Award of B’nai B’rith International. He has been a member of the Board of Governors of B’nai B’rith International and is a Nahum Goldmann Fellow of the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.  David is also a writer and college educator. He is married to Caroline (née Pitchon).  They have three children and a son in law, all of whom have also been involved in Jewish communal life and pro-Israel activism, as well as two lovely grandchildren. They are his pride and joy.

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