Michael Freund

View Our Newsroom

Rabbi Michael Freund Appoints Eliyahu Franco as Shavei Israel’s Newest Emissary to El Salvador Jewish Community

Industry: Non Profit & Charity

Rabbi Franco was born and raised in the San Salvador community and will return to serve the Jewish population there.

San Salvador, El Salvador (PRUnderground) January 21st, 2023

Shavei Israel and Rabbi Michael Freund have announced the appointment of Rabbi Eliyahu Franco as the newest emissary to the Jewish community in El Salvador.

Freund explains that 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 an emissary to the Jewish community in San Salvador, Franco will teach Torah, Jewish tradition, and Jewish culture to Bnei Anousim. In addition, Franco will be responsible for offering enriching social and educational programs, community events and prayers for Shabbat and holidays, Jewish law lectures, how to read from the Torah, and more. There are currently future 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 a native of the area and knows the people well. After his time spent in Israel, he’s prepared and eager to go spread and strengthen Jewish faith in El Salvador,” said Freund.

Shavei Israel, a nonprofit organization founded by Freund that works to reconnect with “lost” Jewish communities around the world, was the conduit for Franco’s Aliyah to Israel in 2018. Now, Franco lives near Jerusalem and is a husband and father of two children. He holds a Technical System Engineering degree and has studied both accounting and religious studies in El Salvador. Afterwards, he went to  Jerusalem to spend five years at the Old City’s Beit Midrash Sephardi. Now, Franco is ordained and certified as a kosher slaughterer, Mashgiach, Kashrut, and Mohel. He is thrilled to return to El Salvador and help reinforce the Jewish faith there.

Freund is excited to announce Franco as emissary to El Salvador and looks forward to seeing the religious and cultural Jewish growth the Rabbi will no doubt spark.

Shavei Israel is a nonprofit organization founded by Michael Freund, who immigrated to Israel from the U.S. with the objective of reaching out to “lost” and “hidden” Jews globally to reconnect them with other Jewish people and the State of Israel. Currently, Shavei Israel is active in more than a dozen countries, from Poland to Peru.

For more information on Shavei Israel, please visit their website at  https://www.shavei.org.

To learn more about Michael Freund, you can visit his Linkedin profile.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Become a Fan

Press Contact

Name
Media Relations
Phone
(415) 326-4475‬
Email
Contact Us
Website