When two powerful earthquakes rocked Venezuela’s capital city of Caracas and nearby La Guaira last Wednesday, volunteers from the country’s Jewish community sprang into action almost immediately, opening synagogues and community centers to hundreds of frightened residents.

The magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes struck seconds apart, killing more than 1,700 people, leaving tens of thousands missing or trapped, destroying hundreds of buildings, and causing billions of dollars in damage, according to reports.

“It was just after 6 p.m. on Wednesday, and it was a national holiday, so most people were in their homes,” recalled Roberto Mishkin, president of Venezuela’s main Ashkenazi congregation, Union Israelita de Caracas. “It was a massive earthquake. I don’t know of anyone who didn’t have some sort of damage in their house.”

The Jewish community is well organized when it comes to security procedures, said Mishkin, and in the hours that followed the quake, hundreds of people arrived at the Hebraica Jewish Community Center and the main synagogue, buildings that serve as the community’s main hubs.

“They were filled with people whose homes were damaged or destroyed, as well as many who came because they were too frightened to sleep in their buildings,” Mishkin said. “We started looking for food, water and blankets for everyone. Only around midnight, after everyone had checked on their own families, did the community’s crisis committee finally have a chance to sit down to meet.”

As of Sunday evening, three members of the country’s 5,000-strong Jewish community have been confirmed dead, and four are still missing, Mishkin said. At least 15 Jewish families have seen their homes destroyed, along with another 30-35 families whose apartments have been rendered unlivable. About 100 people continue to sleep in the Hebraica center every night since the tremor, Mishkin said.

The disaster struck when things were finally starting to look up for Venezuela’s Jewish community after the United States captured President Nicolás Maduro in January, following decades of anti-Zionist and authoritarian rule under Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez. Government officials have sharply changed their antisemitic tone since Maduro’s replacement, Delcy Rodriguez, was installed, members of the community said.

But even as rescue teams from around the world, including Israel, arrive to provide assistance, many fear that the rebuilding process will be a long and difficult one.

“This is an impoverished community that has always relied heavily on social services,” Mishkin said. “Now, people have lost their livelihoods and their homes, and we are starting to think about how we will be able to help everyone. We appreciate that Jewish institutions and........

© The Times of Israel