JEWISH HOMELAND

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Did you know" That in the early 20th century, some Zionist figures, including Theodor Herzl, considered Argentina as a possible homeland for Jews. Herzl believed that Jews were a nation, not a religious community, and that the only way to end antisemitism was for Jews to leave Europe and establish their own national homeland. Argentina's constitution at the time welcomed European immigration, and it had a Catholic population, two factors which may have influenced Herzl's thinking. However, Herzl eventually concluded that the Jewish masses of Eastern Europe would only support a homeland in the Land of Israel. Instead, many Nazi war criminals and sympathizers fled to Catholic Argentina after World War II to escape prosecution. These escape routes were called "ratlines" and led to havens in the Americas, especially Argentina. 394