Three members of Venezuela's Jewish community have now been confirmed dead following the twin earthquakes that devastated the country, with four more still missing, according to Roberto Mishkin, president of the Union Israelita de Caracas, the country's largest Ashkenazi Jewish congregation. The third death was confirmed Sunday, adding another layer of grief to a community already reeling.
At least 15 Jewish families have seen their homes completely destroyed. Another 30 to 35 families' apartments have been rendered entirely unlivable.
The twin earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude, struck northern Venezuela on June 24, within 39 seconds of each other. At least 1,430 people have been killed nationwide, more than 3,200 injured, and over 68,900 reported missing. The mainshock was the strongest to hit Venezuela since 1900.
Within hours of the disaster, hundreds of Jewish families whose homes had been rendered unlivable made their way to Hebraica, the Jewish community center in Caracas, where they spent the first night sleeping on beach chairs and in cars parked on the center's football field. More than 400 people sought refuge there that first night.
Community leaders raced to transform the center into a functioning emergency shelter. On Friday, organizers purchased mattresses so evacuees would no longer have to sleep in their cars. A communal kitchen was established to provide hot meals. The local charity Keren Ezra, which normally distributes staples such as chicken, rice, and groceries to families in need, shifted to emergency rations, handing out tuna, crackers, cookies, and coffee to the hundreds now sheltering at the center.
The earthquake has landed on a community that was already on its knees. Venezuela's Jewish population has collapsed from 20,000 to roughly 3,000 in recent years, leaving fewer and fewer families with the capacity to absorb a crisis of this scale. Before the earthquake, more than 300 Jewish families were already fully dependent on humanitarian aid from organizations including the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee for basic food and medicine.
"This is a difficult mission," Mishkin said, "given that this is a very poor community with very limited resources."
Venezuela's Jewish communities have now launched a $2 million emergency appeal for relief and long-term recovery, with around $176,000 raised by Sunday evening. "We need you," the appeal states. "Every donation could mean the difference between life and death."
Several Israeli and international Jewish organizations are working to send aid and rescue teams. Because Israel has no embassy or consulate in Venezuela, having had diplomatic ties severed by Hugo Chávez in 2009, community leaders are coordinating directly with Venezuelan authorities to facilitate the arrival of Israeli personnel. Jewish humanitarian organization CADENA reached Venezuela on Friday, with an Israeli rescue team expected to arrive Sunday. IsraAID and the Joint remain on standby pending the reopening of Caracas's main airport.
The fear keeping hundreds from going home is the earth itself. More than 400 aftershocks have struck since Wednesday, and residents of high-rise buildings say every tremor sends families into panic. Until the ground stops shaking, Hebraica remains home.
