Argentina - Moisés Ville

At the end of the 19th Century, the difficult conditions, persecutions, pogroms and restrictive laws against Jewish communities in the Russian Empire led to emigration to seek freedom to practice their religion, language and social traditions. Argentina offered those conditions and thousands of Jews emigrated to that country. From 1891 on, the Jewish Colonization Association (JCA), a philanthropic institution founded by Baron Moritz von Hirsch, facilitated their departure and settlement in their new countries. Besides Argentina, the JCA established and supported settlements in Brazil, Canada and the USA. In 1889, Moisés Ville, located in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, was the first rural Jewish settlement to be established in the country. The first population was a group of families coming from the Podolia region, now in Ukraine.