The history of the Jews in Costa Rica dates back to the Spanish conquest with the arrival of many Sephardic converts known as Marranos who escaped from the Spanish Inquisition and settled mainly in the city of Cartago and its surroundings.[1] They hid their Jewish past by all means, making even their descendants have no idea of it.
The Jewish community is an integral part of Costa Rican society. Costa Rica has had four vice presidents of Ashkenazi Jewish origin; Rebeca Grynspan, Astrid Fischel, Luis Fishman, several Jewish deputies and ministers, and a Jewish first lady, Doris Yankelewitz.[1][2] The current Jewish community is estimated at some 2,000 Ashkenazi and about 850 Sephardic arrivals in the twentieth century.
- ^ a b "Costa Rica Jewish Community – Schools & Synagogues". The Tico Times. 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ Perman, Stacy (December 2006). "The Jewish Traveler: Costa Rica". Hadassah Magazine. Retrieved 17 June 2017.