Shavei Israel and Rabbi Michael friend have announced the appointment of Rabbi Eliyahu Franco as the newest envoy of El Salvador’s Jewish community.

Freund explains that the ancestors of today’s Bnei Anousim in El Salvador were forced to convert to Catholicism 500 years ago. Today the Jewish community there is still small but strong. As the emissary of the Jewish community in San Salvador, Franco Bnei Anousim will teach Torah, Jewish tradition and Jewish culture. In addition, Franco will be responsible for delivering enriching social and educational programs, community events and prayers for Shabbat and holidays, Jewish law lectures, Torah reading, and more. There are currently plans for Franco to visit Jewish communities in Honduras and Guatemala.

“Rabbi Franco was a natural choice as Shavei, Israel’s emissary to El Salvador. He is from the area and knows the people well. After his time in Israel, he is ready and eager to spread and strengthen the Jewish faith in El Salvador,” said Freund.

Shavei Israel, a nonprofit founded by Freund that works to reconnect with “lost” Jewish communities around the world, was the channel for Franco’s aliyah to Israel in 2018. Today Franco lives near Jerusalem and is a husband and father of two children. He holds a degree in Technical Systems Engineering and studied both Accounting and Religious Studies in El Salvador. He then went to Jerusalem to spend five years at Beit Midrash Sephardi in the Old City. Now Franco is ordained and certified as a Kosher Butcher, Mashgiach, Kashrut and Mohel. He is very excited to return to El Salvador and help strengthen the Jewish faith there.

Freund is pleased to announce Franco as emissary to El Salvador and looks forward to the religious and cultural Jewish growth the Rabbi will no doubt see…