The first Jewish immigrants arriving in Nicaragua were from France in the 1920s (Dreyfus, Levy, Raskosky, and Salomon) Another wave came from Eastern Europe after 1929. The Jews in Nicaragua were a relatively small community, the majority lived in Managua and engaged in farming, manufacturing, and retailing. The Salomon and Dreyfus families both operated well known department stores in Managua during the first half of the 20th century. The Congregacion Israelita de Nicaragua was the central Jewish organization until 1979. The community maintained a synagogue and social center, as well as a B'nai B'rith lodge and a WIZO chapter. Also, prior to 1979, the small Jewish community had a synagogue that was bombed during a street warfare between Somozistas and Sandinistas, and turned into a school and later into a funeral home. The peak of Jewish population was 250 in 1972 when an earthquake destroyed 90% of the city. The Sandinistas hid the only synagogue in the nation after it had been firebombed during the Sandinista uprising. Sometime after, the land where the synagogue and school once stood was turned into a funeral home. Most Jewish Nicaraguans later emigrated, mainly to the United States and Israel. in 1990 a small number of Jews returned to Nicaragua, around 50. As of 2005, the community had no rabbi. [July 2009]
Jewish Section in Cementerio General Occidental . [July 2009]