History of the Jews in Honduras

Honduras was under the conservative administration of Captain-General José María Medina when the National Congress issued an Immigration Law on February 26, 1866.

The arrival of these immigrants enriched the country's ethnic diversity and also brought with them traditions that were integrated into Honduran society, thus strengthening the nation's social and economic growth at that time.

The First World War led many Jewish merchants and financiers to take their fortunes out of Europe, with some moving to the United States and Latin American countries (mainly the Southern Cone) and others to Russia.

Between 1920 and 1940, the majority of Jews who arrived in the country were Ashkenazis of German, Polish and Romanian origin fleeing Europe due to the onset of the Second World War.

The following year, a decree was issued during the administration of Doctor Vicente Mejía Colindres in which the Immigration Office was created and attached to the Ministry of the Interior.

Colindres also oversaw the passage of a law that authorized foreigners of Arab, Chinese, Turkish, Syrian, Armenian, Palestinian, and African ethnicity, as well as Indians also called Colies, to immigrate to Honduras, provided that they bring 5,000 Silver Pesos and that they would make a deposit to the state coffers of 500 Silver Pesos per person within two months of arrival in the country.

After the Second World War there was a brief boom in the community thanks to the arrival of dozens of new immigrants, but at the beginning of the 1950s most of them would emigrate to the south of the continent to Argentina and Chile where their governments were more inclined to receive Jews.

This victory was an extraordinary case given that the vast majority of presidents of Honduras as well as the rest of Latin America until then had been Roman Catholics, adding that the jewish Honduran community had always been very small, although this does not mean that it did not have weight in the social and political sphere.

Israel under the prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became one of his greatest allies and the first country to recognize him after the allegations of electoral fraud that involved Hernández's re-election led to protests and subsequent repression that caused 30 deaths.

[citation needed] In recent years, some Honduran Jews have made aliyah to Israel due to anti semitic remarks.

In recent years, there has also been an increase in conversions of Hondurans to Judaism, indicating a growing interest in and broader cultural acceptance of religious diversity in Honduras.