Juan Melamed

In this February 2006 file photo, an Uruguayan worker directs the salvage the eagle of World War II German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee, in Montevideo, Uruguay. (AP Photo/Marcelo Hernandez, File)

June 20, 2023, 6:06 am

Uruguay still stuck with Nazi eagle after president pulls peace dove plan

Vexed by 800-pound relic recovered from sunken ship, Luis Lacalle Pou suggested melting it into a peace dove, a plan decried as akin to turning Auschwitz into a nudist colony

By Juan Melamed

(L) Uruguay's players celebrate their side's opening goal against United States scored by teammate Anderson Duarte during a FIFA U-20 World Cup quarterfinal soccer match at the Madre de Ciudades stadium in Santiago del Estero, Argentina on June 4, 2023. (R) Israel's Dor Turgeman, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's third goal during the extra time of a FIFA U-20 World Cup quarterfinal soccer match against Brazil at the Bicentenario stadium in San Juan, Argentina on June 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Nicolas Aguilera, Ricardo Mazalan)

June 8, 2023, 2:37 am

Root for home team? Uruguayan Jews see dilemma in U-20 World Cup semifinal vs. Israel

Jews in Latin American country are highly Zionist and have been inspired by Israeli team’s cinderella run in tournament, but community also ‘very proud and nationalistic’

By Juan Melamed

A fan waves a Palestinian flag in the stands of a U-20 World Cup match between Israel and Columbia on May 21, 2023. (Screen capture/Twitter)

May 23, 2023, 3:32 am

Palestinian flag sparks tension during Israel’s U-20 World Cup loss to Colombia

Colombian fans wave banner after team scores goal in win, leading Israel backers to shout, ‘This is not politics, this is soccer’; police break up altercation

By Juan Melamed

El Yam Kancepolsky speaks at a welcome event for the Israeli team in Buenos Aires, May 15, 2023. Team manager Ofir Haim is on right. (Leonardo Kremenchuzky/World Zionist Organization via JTA)

May 18, 2023, 10:37 am

Israel looks to make history at men’s U-20 soccer World Cup after Indonesia snub

Tournament to be held in Argentina after Indonesia was stripped of hosting rights following anti-Israel protests; squad welcomed by Jewish community: ‘We came to win the trophy’

By Juan Melamed

A view inside a Mercado Libre warehouse. (Courtesy of Mercado Libre via JTA)

December 23, 2022, 11:53 pm

Latin American retail giant says it reduced antisemitic products by 89% this year

Mercado Libre further strips its shelves of content that violates violence and discrimination rules after removing books like ‘Mein Kampf,’ ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion’

By Juan Melamed

Jews living in San Martin de los Andes have inaugurated the first-ever synagogue in their city. (Gustavo Castaign/ Courtesy Comunidad Hebrea San Martin de los Andes via JTA)

December 1, 2022, 3:38 am

Patagonia’s 1st new synagogue in decades reveals growing Argentine-Jewish community

Conservative Jews in San Martín de los Andes inaugurated their city’s first-ever synagogue, and have already doubled the number of locals and tourists coming for holiday events

By Juan Melamed

Argentinian poet Jorge Luis Borges holds a press conference while in Madrid, Spain, in 1963. (Getty Images via JTA)

November 11, 2022, 12:38 am

Renowned author’s passion for Israel, Judaism showcased in Buenos Aires

Jorge Luis Borges exhibit in Argentina National Library, co-organized by local Israeli embassy, set to feature events discussing Jewish themes in non-Jewish author’s work

By Juan Melamed

Israeli Jonathan Erlich appears with his friend and former doubles partner Novak Djokovic, right, to explain the cancellation of their scheduled match at the Tel Aviv Watergen Open in Tel Aviv, Sept. 28, 2022. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images via JTA)

October 1, 2022, 4:53 am

Israeli doubles star Jonathan Erlich retires from tennis at Tel Aviv tournament

Tel Aviv Open returns for 1st time since ’96, attracting all-time great Djokovic along with Jewish star Diego Schwartzman who makes first trip to Israel before losing in 1st round

By Juan Melamed

Argentina's 35-plus soccer squad celebrates winning gold at the Maccabiah Games in Israel. (Courtesy of FACCMA/via JTA)

July 30, 2022, 3:38 am

At the ‘Jewish Olympics,’ scores of Argentine athletes play under other flags

Thanks to rules on players with multiple citizenships, Maccabiah 2022 sees smaller delegations bolstered by a nation with some of the highest-quality Jewish players in the world

By Juan Melamed

The first fully kosher restaurant in Punta del Este, Uruguay, is named Brooklyn. (Juan Melamed/JTA)

May 25, 2022, 7:37 am

In Uruguay, a ritzy resort city’s Jewish population has doubled during the pandemic

Long a summer destination for international bigwigs and South American Jews alike, Punta del Este has seen the number of year-round Jewish families swell from 300 to 600 since 2020

By Juan Melamed

In this March 17, 1992, file photo, firemen and rescue workers walk through the debris of Israel's Embassy after a terrorist in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/DonRypka-File )

March 21, 2022, 2:53 am

5 reflections from Buenos Aires, three decades after the Israeli embassy bombing

Demonstrators gather to commemorate the 29 murdered in the bombing; Israeli Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar rails against renewed efforts toward an Iran nuclear deal

By Juan Melamed

March 9, 2022, 9:42 am

Stolen Anne Frank statue recovered in Buenos Aires, will get rededication ceremony

Police find the effigy in a squatter shantytown near the Argentine capital; local Jewish leaders say theft was not motivated by antisemitism

By Juan Melamed

A screenshot of Centro Unión Israelita synagogue during the 360-degree tour. (Screenshot from Museo Judio de Cordoba/via JTA)

March 7, 2022, 4:45 am

Argentina’s new virtual Jewish museum celebrates Córdoba community’s playful humor

In addition to history and documents, check out the ‘Idishometer,’ a quiz on Yiddish words and their Spanish translations

By Juan Melamed

The empty site of the Anne Frank statue in Buenos Aires. (Netherlands Embassy in Argentina/Twitter)

March 6, 2022, 11:47 am

Anne Frank statue stolen in Argentine capital, likely for value of the metal

So-called ‘bronze mafia’ has carried out multiple robberies in Buenos Aires over recent years; watchdog says it doesn’t believe antisemitism was motive

By Juan Melamed

A Uruguayan resident observes the eagle on display from the German battleship Graf Spee in Montevideo, Uruguay, Feb. 14, 2006 (AP Photo/Marcelo Hernandez) (AP Photo/Marcelo Hernandez).

January 13, 2022, 12:58 am

Jewish businessman wants to buy 800-pound Nazi eagle and swastika and blow it up

Giant symbol was recovered in 2006 from Admiral Graf Spee battleship that sunk in a Uruguayan harbor in 1939; it has languished in a warehouse amid debate over its fate

By Juan Melamed