As the Jewish population of the United States is shrinking while the Latino population is increasing rapidly, it is “more important than ever” to form meaningful coalitions and cooperative programs between the two groups, according to Dina Siegel Vann, director of the American Jewish Committee’s Latino and Latin American Institute. Siegel Vann, a native of Mexico City, whose office is based in Washington, D.C., was the guest speaker last Wednesday at the 66th Annual Meeting of the AJC’s St, Louis Region, attended by about 40 people at Maggiano’s Restaurant in Richmond Heights.

In her remarks and in an interview with the Jewish Light, Siegel Vann explained that among the Institute’s main goals is “pursuing outreach and coalition building efforts between the Jewish and Latino communities in the U.S., and at the same time seeking to ensure the strengthening of ties among the U.S., Israel and Latin America, and the stability of Jewish life in the region.” Siegel Vann said that the statistics on the American Jewish and Latino communities offer concrete proof of the importance of building upon the good relationships that have already been established.

Noting that the American Jewish population is estimated at about 5.1 million “and shrinking,” the Latino population, according to the last census is about 50 million. “This means that one in six Americans is Latino. In addition, one in five American children is Latino and one in four newborns is Latino. The Latino population by 2030 will be 135 million, which means that one-third of the U.S. population will be Latino by that year.”

She emphasized that since U.S. Jewry is a shrinking population, it is essential that Jews form and strengthen Jewish-Latino alliances now. Vann Siegel took note of the role of her office in the formation of the Latino-Jewish Caucus at the U.S. Congress, a bipartisan group of legislators that meet on issues of domestic policy, the U.S. agenda in the hemisphere and immigration reform.

“This is a very effective coalition, and among its members is Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a leader in the Democratic Party from Florida, who is one of its co-chairs, and the former chair of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the House Foreign Relations Committee,” she said. “There are about 20 members of the Caucus in all, and it is an important part of AJC’s effort to infuse our partnership with Latinos with a sense of urgency.”

She added that the AJC recently commissioned a comprehensive survey of Latinos to determine where they stand on issues of concern to the Jewish community. “For example, do Latinos believe that American Jews are still part of a persecuted minority or part of the non-Latino majority in America?”

Siegel Vann also described AJC’s role in organizing trips to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, including members of the Jewish and Latino communities from the New York and Chicago American communities. “In the Domincan Republic, we were very moved to learn that 1,000 Jews were saved from the Holocaust by the Dominican Republic, and a 99-year-old Jewish survivor met with our group,” she said. “That certainly brought our Latino-Jewish connection to life. We also brought a similar group from Chicago to Puerto Rico. We are trying to think out of the box.”

Regarding the Jewish population and status in Latin America, Siegel Vann said, “there are about 400,000 Jews in Latin America, including 250,000 in Argentina, 100,000 to 120,000 in Brazil and about 38,000 in Mexico. Some of the Jewish communities are assimilated, but in each country there are vibrant Jewish communities. This is especially true in Mexico, where it has not been as easy to assimilate.”

Siegel Vann also pointed out that both the Palestinians and Iran have made diplomatic inroads in Latin America, “and there has been a vacuum of Jewish and Israeli outreach in the region.” She noted that several Latin American nations have already recognized the Palestinian Authority as an independent state and are expected to vote in favor of recognizing Palestine as an independent state at the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 20.

She added that Panama and Mexico are still on the margins and have not indicated how they will vote. “I do not feel that the recognition of a Palestinian state by some Latin American countries is necessarily an anti-Israel act,” she said. “Part of it results from the fact that Israel has been largely absent from the region, and the votes are part of a regional dynamic and may include the process of ‘trading votes’ at the United Nations. Some of the delegations still on the fence are waiting to see how the European nations will vote.”