Image by Google Earth

Manuel Tenenbaum, who served for three decades as head of the Latin American Jewish Congress, has died.

Tenenbaum, who was also an educator and author, died and was buried Tuesday in his native Montevideo, Uruguay. He was 81.

In 1978, he was named executive director of the Latin American Jewish Congress, leading the regional branch of the World Jewish Congress from its Buenos Aires office until 2007, when he retired.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Earlier in the 1970s, Tenenbaum was president of the Central Jewish Committee of Uruguay, which he represented at World Jewish Congress meetings, and headed B’nai B’rith Uruguay.

The son of Polish immigrants, Tenenbaum was president of the Jewish youth movement of Uruguay and was the first president of the Latin American Jewish Youth Council.

Tenenbaum “was greatly respected and admired among Latin American Jews, and he was a man of many achievements,” World Jewish Congress CEO Robert Singer said in a statement. “His work in South America did a great deal to put the WJC and the LAJC on the map there. He established close relations with elected leaders, church representatives and civil society.”

Tenenbaum was director of a secondary school in Montevideo, on the faculty of the Jewish teachers’ seminary and a college professor. He authored several books and many papers on Jewish history, and received a number of awards for his work.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount