From The Fire Within

Thanks to a number of documentaries in recent years that now comprise their own sub-genre, we’re no longer surprised to hear about tiny pockets of observant Jews in out-of-the-way corners of the world.

These communities cling to their Jewish identity with an inspiring tenacity that casts into sharp relief the ease with which American Jews preserve and practice their faith.

So it’s particularly upsetting to learn that groups of South American Jews are less than fully supported by other Jews.

Lorry Salcedo Mitrani’s The Fire Within: Jews in the Amazonian Rainforest introduces us to the Jewish community of Iquitos, Peru, a town that attracted both entrepreneurs and ordinary workers during the rubber boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

A number of those people were Moroccan Jews — single men, mostly — whose ancestors had been chased out of Spain hundreds of years earlier. The new immigrants married indigenous women and started families, and those branches now comprise Iquitos’ Jewish community.

As the former head of the Iquitos Jewish community declares,  “It’s a miracle that the flame of Judaism still exists here.”

It’s a huge feel-good story, no question. But it also comes with one big caveat.

The history of the Jews in Iquitos is moderately interesting, but The Fire Within catches fire when it focuses on the present, and some Peruvians’ desire to make aliyah to the Promised Land.

What a remarkable affirmation of and commitment to their Jewish identity. Who could possibly oppose such a decision?

Well, going back many generations, the Iquitos Jews were descended from non-Jewish mothers, and thus don’t pass muster with the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the ultimate arbiters of who is a Jew.

OK, Iquitos Jews say, they’ll convert. But the Orthodox (and largely Ashkenazi) community of Lima is skeptical and unhelpful, believing the poorer Sephardi Jews are essentially motivated to make aliyah for economic reasons.

Mitrani’s far-reaching documentary covers a lot of time and ground in one hour, from glimpses of the 2002 and 2004 conversion rituals (led by Americans such as Rabbi Marcelo Bronstein of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in New York) to enlightening and hopeful interviews with several of the new immigrants gradually acclimating to Israel.

The Fire Within adopts a surprisingly even-keel tone, allowing the Iquito Jews’ remarkable commitment and perseverance to speak for itself.

As one small example of their desire, some traveled six days by canoe to participate in the conversion process.

The film plainly takes their side, but it doesn’t indulge in righteous indignation over their ill treatment by the Orthodox Jewish leaders of Lima. Most moviegoers will find it more difficult to resist that temptation, however.

If this story sounds vaguely familiar, an earlier documentary, The Longing: The Forgotten Jews of South America, focused on Ecuadoran and Colombian Jews.

The films traffic in similar themes, although they spotlight peoples in different parts of the continent.

The Fire Within is a fine introduction to this topic, although it will leave some moviegoers shaking their heads.

If a group of people wants to be Jews so badly, what’s the problem?

The Fire Within: Jews in the Amazonian Rainforest will be screened on Thursday, April 22 at 7:10 p.m. at the Neon Movies, with a reception at 6:45 p.m. and a discussion led by Enrique Ellenbogen following the film. The program is co-sponsored by the Dayton Sister City Committee. Tickets are $8.50 adults, $7.50 students and are available by calling Karen Steiger at 853-0372, at jewishdayton.org or at the door.