When a massive, deadly flood struck the Argentine city of Bahia Blanca just days before Purim, JDC jumped into action, thanks to an infrastructure built over decades of working with the small Jewish community about 400 miles southwest of Buenos Aires.

Prior to the natural disaster, the organization was already providing welfare assistance to some 10 percent of the approximately 600 Jews in the city, which has a population of about 400,000. When the rains came, JDC began both to supply direct aid like financial support and to coordinate a multi-faceted humanitarian response to the crisis, liaising between the many parties who wanted to help.

The city looked like a river, and it was our job to walk alongside the Bahia Blanca Jewish community and assist them. We empowered them.”

Ariel Jenik

Deputy Director, JDC Latin America

The crisis began over Shabbat, and Bahia Blanca lost power, making communications very difficult, said Ariel Jenik, JDC’s deputy director for Latin America. Luckily, the vice president of the Jewish community was visiting Buenos Aires that weekend, enabling closer coordination and quick decision-making — like the choice to quickly fly in Jessica Korenblum, JDC’s welfare director in the region.

By Sunday night, she was on the ground in Bahia Blanca, working with local leaders to assess the damage and check in by phone and through home visits with the at-risk Jews JDC serves in the city — along with other Jewish families made suddenly vulnerable by the flooding.

“A situation like this was unprecedented, but we relied on our unique expertise,” Jenik said. “We convened and organized efforts and managed ideas, putting all of that together to make something doable, helpful, and very impactful.”

The initial reaction was one of gratitude. Together with our partners, we were able to understand the magnitude of the impact — what was needed and what the community’s priorities were.”

Jessica Korenblum

Welfare Director, JDC Latin America

One of JDC’s first actions was to wire the Jewish community emergency financial assistance — flexible funds that would allow them to meet concrete needs in real time as they arose. The organization also convened a small working group of key stakeholders who collaborated to build a bridge between donation sites in Buenos Aires — Jewish Community Centers (JCCs), day schools, and synagogues — and institutions in Bahia Blanca that needed support.

Within the week, two large donated trucks — the result of a community- wide emergency campaign — were packed with supplies like clothing, medical equipment, and canned food, and driven from the capital to the most impacted areas.

JDC was present from the very beginning, through both material assistance and psychological and emotional support. Even after the storm passed, they’ve continued to help us get back on our feet.”

Martin Izcovich

Vice President,
Bahia Blanca Jewish Community

Jenik said JDC encouraged the community to hold Shabbat services two weeks after the disaster as a source of spiritual strength, even though synagogues were still waterlogged and required cleanup — helping to facilitate a partnership with a Buenos Aires congregation.

Beyond those immediate priorities, the organization also began preparing for long-term needs related to the community’s psychological recovery and resilience, even coordinating a Zoom meeting with an Argentine emergency response expert now living in Israel.

“We knew what the aftermath would look like, so we started working in advance,” Jenik said.

The response was a continuation of JDC’s long-term efforts to strengthen Jewish life in Bahia Blanca — bolstering the Jewish community’s Board through coaching and seminars on topics like fundraising and governance, and investing in its emerging leaders through the Kidum initiative, a network of 14 Jewish communities in Argentina’s provinces that face similar challenges and come together for virtual and in-person training.

“Because we already have a presence there and a close working relationship, we were able to take on this role in the middle of an emergency,” Jenik said.

In a crisis, JDC is the Jewish 9-1-1. We have the muscle to do it.”

Sergio Widder

Regional Director, JDC Latin America

That’s a testament to JDC’s legacy of impact in Argentina and across Latin America — responding to financial crises, cultivating the next generation of community changemakers, and more.

“The flood was a very focused crisis in one particular small community, but many people in Argentina understand JDC’s role as a major player at critical moments like this,” Jenik said. “When JDC picks up the phone to call, the person on the other side always answers.”

“The donors should know that their contributions bear great fruit. Thanks to JDC, I was able to return to my roots. You can feel their mission is to bring joy.” Rusudan Goguadze JDC Client; Tbilisi, Georgia

The donors should know that their contributions bear great fruit. Thanks to JDC, I was able to return to my roots. You can feel their mission is to bring joy.”

Rusudan Goguadze

JDC Client; Tbilisi, Georgia

Jewish Argentina

Aiding Jewish Communities in Times of Crisis and Calm