(Jewish Group) An unlikely mass conversion in Peru gets closer look in book about 'Bnei Moshe' Jews

[Behind the Aegis]

An unlikely mass conversion in Peru gets a closer look in new book about ‘Bnei Moshe’ Jews

The 1981 winner of Peru’s competition of Israel’s International Bible Contest did not come from among the country’s many devoted Christians nor from Lima’s elite Jewish school.

Instead, the top prize went to Victor Chico, a self-taught man in his thirties who practiced Judaism with a small sect of Peruvian natives led by a man named Segundo Villanueva. Spurred initially by Villanueva’s searching for truth as a religious Christian, the group had adopted Jewish practices and beliefs, celebrated holidays and even hired a doctor to circumcise the men. But local rabbis, surprised by the group and concerned about whether they had truly left Christianity behind, had rebuffed them.

For Chico, Villanueva and their community, the prize was a sign that they had finally earned recognition and respect for their devotion to Judaism.

Behind the scenes, the opposite was taking place: Peruvian Jewish leaders lobbied the local businessman who was paying for the winner to travel to Israel not to follow through. But the Israeli ambassador to Peru rejected that idea, and Chico took his first trip abroad, to Jerusalem.

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