of Panama to go from the Atlantic to the Pacific, or vice versa. Although descendants of the "anusim," or forced converts, from the Iberian Peninsula have lived in Panama since the early sixteenth century, there was a Jewish community that openly practiced religion until it took centuries (?). Jews, mainly Sephardic from nearby islands such as Curaçao, St. Thomas and Jamaica, and Jewish immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe began arriving in Panama in large quantities until the mid-nineteenth century, attracted by economic incentives such as bi-oceanic railway construction and the California gold rush. They were followed by other waves of immigration: during the First World War the Ottoman Empire from disintegrating, before and after the Second World War from Europe, from Arab countries because of the exodus caused in 1948 and more recently from South American countries suffering economic crises. The center of Jewish life in Panama is Panama City, although historically small groups of Jews settled in other cities, like Colón, David, Chitre, La Chorrera, Santiago de Veraguas and Bocas del Toro. Those communities are disappearing as families move to the capital in search of education for their children and for economic reasons. Today Jewish community numbers some 20,000. Panama is the only country in the world except for Israel that has had two Jewish presidents in the twentieth century. In the sixties Max Delvalle was first vice president, then president. His nephew, Eric Arturo Delvalle, was president between 1985 and 1988. The two were members of Kol Shearith Israel synagogue and were involved in Jewish life. Paraguay Toward the 19th century, Jewish immigrants arrived in Paraguay from countries such as France, Switzerland and Italy. During World War I Jews from Palestine (Jerusalem), Egypt and Turkey arrived in Paraguay, mostly Sephardic Jews. In the 1920s, there was a second wave of immigrants from Ukraine and Poland. Between 1933 and 1939, between 15,000 and 20,000 Jews from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia took advantage of Paraguay's liberal immigration laws to escape from Nazi-occupied Europe. After World War II, most Jews that arrived in Paraguay were survivors of concentration camps. Today, there are 1,000 Jews mostly living in Paraguay's capital, Asunción. Most are of German descent. Peru In Peru, conversos arrived at the time of the Spanish Conquest. At first, they had lived without restrictions because the Inquisition was not active in Peru at the beginning of the Viceroyalty. Then, with