History of the Jews in Andorra

File:Location Andorra Europe.png

The location of Andorra in Europe

Template:History of Andorra The history of the Jews in Andorra has its origins during World War II and the majority of the 73 to 250 Jews in the country are descended from Sephardic Jews who came from Morocco in the 1960s. There are no official synagogues as state law prohibits non-Catholic Church places of worship.

History

The state religion of Andorra is Roman Catholic and all non-Catholic places of worship are banned. There was no recorded presence of Jews in Andorra until World War II. 2,000-3,000 French Jews fled to neutral Andorra during the war. Another wave of Jews came from Morocco in the 1960s.Template:Sfn

The Associació Cultural Israelita de les Valls d’Andorra was formed in 1998, in a meeting hall underneath a medical building. There are technically no synagogues in Andorra due to religious laws, but informal ones exist.Template:Sfn

There is no Jewish cemetery in Andorra and cremation is common in the country, which contravenes Jewish traditions. Most Jews are buried in Toulouse or Barcelona instead. Negotiations with the government for a Jewish cemetery started in the early 2000s.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn There were no full-time rabbis in Andorra until Kuty Kalmenson's, a Chabad, appointment was announced on 1 December 2024.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Salomó Benchluch was elected to the General Council in 2023, becoming its first Jewish member.Template:Sfn

Population

The majority of Andorra's Jews are descended from Sephardic Jews who came from Morocco.Template:Sfn There were around 120 Jews in 1998, but this declined to 73 in 2024, due to younger Jews not having children or moving from Andorra.Template:Sfn Higher estimates list the current Jewish population as around 250.Template:Sfn

See also

• Andorra-Israel relations
• History of the Jews in France
• History of the Jews in Spain
• History of the Jews in Morocco

External links

• Associació Cultural Israelita de les Valls d´Andorra