Two members of Venezuela’s Jewish community were killed and several others remain missing following the devastating earthquakes that struck northern Venezuela, according to community leaders.

Hundreds of Jewish residents have been displaced after their homes were destroyed or badly damaged. Within hours of the quakes, families whose apartments were no longer safe began arriving at Hebraica, the Jewish community center in Caracas, where more than 400 people sought shelter overnight, sleeping on beach chairs and in cars parked on the center’s soccer field.

Community leaders said many residents remain afraid to return home, especially those living in high-rise buildings, as aftershocks continue to shake the region.

Before the earthquake, Venezuela’s Jewish community was already facing years of hardship, with more than 300 families relying on local Jewish organizations, including the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, for food and medicine.

On Friday, community organizers purchased mattresses for evacuees and began working to open a communal kitchen for families unable to afford meals.

“For now, everyone here is safe,” community leader Roberto Mishkin said. “We are feeding several families and trying to manage, but this is a very poor community.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)