Jewish Latin Center

The Jewish Latin Center (JLC) is a Chabad-affiliated community center in Manhattan dedicated to Latin American Jews living in New York. Founded in 2009 by Rabbi Mendy Weitman — who was born in São Paulo, Brazil, where his father served as a Chabad emissary — and his wife Frumie Weitman, the JLC was created as a ‘home away from home’ for the thousands of Latin American Jews who have relocated to New York City and the greater metropolitan area.

Over the years the JLC has grown into a vibrant community of roughly 1,500–1,600 people, offering a wide range of innovative and engaging programs. Offerings include Shabbat and holiday dinners, social mixers, educational classes, women’s events, challah bakes, and cultural gatherings — all designed to help members reconnect with the warm Jewish experiences they remember from their home countries while building professional connections and lifelong relationships in New York.

Notable milestones include the dedication of the community’s first Torah scroll in 2011 and high-profile gatherings such as a Shabbat dinner attended by the President of Guatemala. The JLC continues to serve as a central cultural and spiritual hub where Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Jews from across Latin America can find community, celebrate Jewish life, and feel at home in Manhattan.