International Jewish Cemetery Project
International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies

MOISESVILLE: Santa Fe Province

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also see Entre Rios.

UPDATE: The first Jewish collective settlement in Argentina was founded without help from JCA in the NE corner of Santa Fe Province, San Cristobal department, 80 km from Rafaela, 173 km from Santa Fe City, and 616 km from Buenos Aires. The town is a national landmark. Eight families from Bessarabia arrived in 1888 with assistance from Alliance Israelite Universelle in what was then called "Monigotes la Vieja." Fifty Ukrainian families joined them. In 1889, the Weser delivered more Jews to Pedro Palacios property. Thus, Moises Ville was born in the NE of Santa Fe Province. In 1908, the settlers formed the first Jewish cooperative in Argentina, one that closed in 1993. Moises Ville became the urban center for surrounding settlements: Bialistok, Berlin, Zadoc Kahn, Wavelberg, Cuartro Cases, Doce Cases, and Veinticuatro. The town has a Jewish museum. Baron de Hirsch Synagogue is located at 9 de Julio and Bartolomi Mitre Streets, the only synagogue still active out of the original four. [December 2003]

The Jewish Museum's email address is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. [January 2001]

http://www.mville.com.ar is in Spanish. [January 2001] It is a web site for tourism and business development of the community, but includes a short histroy of the Jewish founding and photos of the town, including several Synagogues. [October 2005]

"In 1889, 824 Russian Jews arrived in Argentina on the S.S. Weser and became gauchos (Argentine cowboys). The gauchos bought land and established a colony, which they named Moiseville. Due to lack of funding, the gauchos appealed to Baron Maurice de Hirsch for funds and the Baron subsequently founded the Jewish Colonization Association. During its heyday, the Association owned more than 600,000 hectares of land, populated by more than 200,000 Jews. While many of these cooperative ranches are now owned by non-Jews, Jews continue to run some of the properties."  Source: http://www.israeltour.org/jsource/vjw/Argentina.html (text no longer available on-line) [October 2005]

"Cemeteries in Argentina" by Paul Armony [in Spanish] from Toledot, September 1999. [October 2000]

Argentina's last Jewish cowboys: The story of Moises Ville in the Argentine pampas, Daniel Schweimler, BBC News [March 2011]

Moisesville: The Jewish Pioneer Colony. By Paul Armony. [August 2009]

El Cementerio: The oldest Jewish cemetery in Argentina, the site dates from 8 January 1891 and has thirteen sections and 2,379 graves. Located one km east of town on a gravel road, the caretaker is Shosho Quiroga. Open M-Th from 7 to 11 a.m. and 4-6:30 p.m. Friday and Sunday mornings. Closed Saturday. For permission to visit call Jewish Mutual Association at (03409) 420-031. The alphabetical burial books are found in a small room near the entrance. The first registry is kept in the Jewish Community office. Some graves are illegible. A 1992 tornado destroyed some of the oldest graves. Some stones are U-shaped, some tubular, and some columns from the 1920s and 30s. Inscriptions are in Hebrew and Yiddish. Some have portraits on stones. The horse-drawn burial cart (used until 1979) exists. Memorial monuments include Holocaust monument, memorial to the children who died in an 1889 epidemic in Palacios, and victims of the Israeli (1992) and AMIA (1994) Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires. The Jews of San Cristsbal used this cemetery. Head covering is required in the cemetery. A "book" kept in cemetery office has the grave locations. [December 2003]

UPDATE: Book Review: The Crimes of Moisés Ville: A Story of Gauchos and Jews [August 2014]

 

 

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Parent Category: SOUTH AMERICA