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The founder of Peru’s only Jewish bakery looks to educate non-Jews through food — and Instagram stories
LIMA, Peru (JTA) — The story of Lima’s only Jewish bakery begins on Christmas.
On the eve of the holiday in 2016, Deborah Trapunsky was baking challah for a non-Jewish friend who wanted a unique gift for her boyfriend. Her friends had always loved her challah, and she enjoyed sharing this aspect of her culture with them. But on that night, Trapunsky figured that she would see if anyone else would be interested in some challah to go with their Christmas dinner. So she posted on Facebook.
The response was overwhelming.
Trapunsky ended up receiving nearly 100 orders, and without a professional oven, she barely kept up with the demand. Using her parents’ small kitchen to complete the orders, Trapunsky said that she had to “colonize” her parents’ apartment — using every countertop to knead dough, laying out challahs throughout the rooms to cool down and then packaging them.
As she drove around Lima on Christmas day completing all the deliveries, as the majority of Peruvians were celebrating with their families, Trapunsky hatched a plan to turn the unexpected response into a business.
“I was really surprised when the orders started to grow and grow,” she said. “I had no idea about anything, no idea how much challah I could bake, no idea how to do the packaging…but that’s how it all started.”
She named her creation Oh-jalá — a bit of wordplay, as “ojala” means “I hope” and jalá is the Spanish word for challah, the braided Ashkenazi bread traditionally made on Shabbat and holidays.
Seven years after that Christmas Facebook post, the bakery has moved from a cramped 120-square-foot kitchen to a 1,200-foot brick and mortar space that opened in 2020 in a garage of an old colonial home in the posh neighborhood of San Isidro.
Trapunksy, who is 30, has gone from selling four flavors of challah to 12 — including vegan and nutella varieties — and has expanded from only selling challah to offering coffee, hamantaschen (for Purim), a variety of sweetbreads and even bagels. (She made sure to add the disclaimer that hers are not on par with New York bagels but that they suffice for the traveler in Peru who is craving the Jewish-American staple).
Over the years, Trapunsky’s clientele has also shifted from mostly Jewish customers — who found her after the initial Christmas rush — to mostly non-Jews. She therefore sees Oh-jalá as more than a job: it’s her attempt to combat stereotypes, encourage the integration of Jews into Peruvian society, and perhaps most importantly, it’s her attempt to forge a unique Jewish-Peruvian identity for herself.
The bakery is housed in a garage of an old colonial home in the posh neighborhood of San Isidro. (Courtesy of Deborah Trapunsky)
“Here in Peru people like ‘different’ [cultures and cuisines], and being Jewish in Peru is very different,” Trapunsky said. “And I really enjoy having a bakery that exists at the intersection between this minority community and the larger Peruvian world.”
Jewish Peruvians make up fewer than .01% of the country’s population of 34 million and are mostly concentrated in the capital Lima. Trapunsky and her family are currently close with other members of the community here, but they didn’t always fit in.
Like many South American Jews, her family mostly descends from Eastern Europe. Before 1998, they lived in Chile, but looking to leave financial struggles behind, the Trapunskys left for Peru. Siblings, parents, cousins, aunts and uncles all lived together in an old house in Lima. Trapunsky recalled these memories fondly, as she was only a child and enjoyed being with her cousins. But she also remembers the tension between her parents and uncles and aunts, as their economic hardships were compounded by feeling like outcasts among Lima’s Jews.
Oh-jalá includes bagels on the menu. (Courtesy of Deborah Trapunsky)
Lima’s Jewish community of around 2,000 is very wealthy, and the Trapunskys came to Peru with almost nothing. Starting from scratch, they had to fight for a place within a community that Deborah describes as “hermetic.” She spent much of her childhood feeling like she didn’t belong in the traditional but not Orthodox community that was supposed to embrace her. It made her bitter.
“The Jewish community here is very closed-minded. When [my family] arrived in Peru, we didn’t have any money…I was young but I remember feeling the struggle of my family trying to exist in an unwelcoming community,” Trapunsky said. “So although I’ve always felt grateful for being Jewish and for the Jewish community here, I also have always felt a little resentment.”
After graduating from Peru’s only Jewish high school, she went to university and immersed herself in the non-Jewish world. She quickly discovered that the majority of Peruvians know very little about Jewish people, and what they do know is often based in stereotypes and anachronisms. She often tried to educate her peers about Jewish holidays, traditions and food, and through that process felt more Jewish than she ever had.
“Sharing my culture with friends helped me discover what made me feel Jewish. When I was only spending time with other Jews, I lost the ability to identify myself by contrasting myself to others,” she said. “But being immersed in Peru’s secular world gave me the opportunity to connect to my Judaism in a very different way.”
She added that she thinks the insularity of Lima’s Jewish community leads non-Jewish Peruvians to view the community with suspicion and reinforces negative stereotypes about Jewish people. With Oh-jalá, Trapunsky is trying to change that — to foster interaction between local Jews and others, and to show Peruvians how Jews enrichen their society.
Trapunsky is shown with some of her employees inside Oh-jalá. (Courtesy of Deborah Trapunsky)
“Food is a safe and secular space,” she said. “It gives me the opportunity to share cultural information in a non-political manner.”
But Oh-jalá’s physical space is not the only tool that Trapunsky uses in her mission — she also uses the bakery’s Instagram account to educate Peruvians about Judaism. With more than 18,000 followers, she does educational Instagram stories on Sukkot, Pesach, and other Jewish holidays. She even did an Instagram live video on “Judaism 101.” In a series of highlighted stories on her page, she talked about topics ranging from the fasting on Yom Kippur to why Jews don’t celebrate Christmas to, of course, the origins of challah.
As a result, she has received hundreds of positive direct messages from Peruvians eager to learn more about the religion and compare Judaism to their own Catholicism. She said this was her exact goal.
“I want to overturn the hermetic reputation of the Jewish community and turn it into something accessible, open to the public, and even trendy,” she said. “I want everyone in Peru to be able to get to know us… and explore our culture.”
Starting Oh-jalá has also helped her let go of the resentment. She now not only feels more secure in her identity as both Peruvian and Jewish, but also more of a valued member in the Lima Jewish community.
As the financial success continues, Deborah is focused on the future. She wants to franchise her bakery and plans to open another one on the other side of the city.
Ever the entrepreneur, she also made sure to tell the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that she’s looking for investors — and for a Jewish boyfriend.
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The post The founder of Peru’s only Jewish bakery looks to educate non-Jews through food — and Instagram stories appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Germany Allocates More Than $1 Billion in Home Care for Holocaust Survivors Globally
Negotiations between the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany and the German government, held this year in Berlin, Germany. Photo: Claims Conference
Germany has agreed to allocate more than $1 billion for home care for Holocaust survivors around the world in 2026, a nonprofit organization that negotiates and secures compensation for survivors of the Nazis’ atrocities announced on Wednesday.
The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) said that following its latest negotiations with the German Federal Ministry of Finance, Germany agreed to increase home care funding for Holocaust survivors worldwide, bringing the total for next year to $1.08 billion. The amount is the largest budget secured for Holocaust survivor home care in the history of the Claims Conference. The assistance will better allow Holocaust survivors to live safely and comfortably in their own homes.
“It is deeply meaningful that, 80 years after liberation, the German government maintains its responsibility to those who suffered and survived,” said Ambassador Colette Avital, a Holocaust survivor and Claims Conference negotiation delegation member. “Every survivor — and every rescuer — deserves to live with dignity and to be seen, heard, and cared for.”
“This historic increase to home care funding reflects the complex and growing needs of Holocaust survivors worldwide,” Claims Conference President Gideon Taylor added in a statement. “While we are losing survivors at a rapid pace each year, those who remain are older, frailer, and in greater need than ever before. This budget is critical in providing each of them the opportunity to age in place, a dignity that was stolen from them in their youth.”
The average age of Holocaust survivors who receive home care through funding secured by the Claims Conference rose from 86 in 2018 to 88.5 in 2024. During the same time period, the number of survivors who qualified for full-time home care assistance due to a severe disability — such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, and dementia — nearly doubled.
“I’m almost blind and have the use of only one arm. Since my wife passed away several years ago, life hasn’t been easy,” said Holocaust survivor Simon Reznik. “My caregiver is my light — I wait for her to bring life back into my days. Without her help, I couldn’t manage even the basics. She means the world to me.”
The German government has also committed $205 million over the next four years to support Holocaust education, the Claims Conference announced. The funding will be used for Holocaust education programs that will include teacher training, academic research, and virtual reality experiences, which can potentially spread the reach of Holocaust education to a wider audience.
“It is imperative that we invest in the future of Holocaust education while we still have living witnesses who can share their first-hand testimonies of survival,” said Greg Schneider, executive vice president of the Claims Conference. “Building strong curricula, forging new partnerships, and employing cutting-edge technology to preserve and share survivor testimonies will ensure the lessons of the Shoah are not forgotten. This is our moral obligation to the survivors of the Holocaust and to the six million who were murdered.”
Following negotiations with the Claims Conference, the German government also committed to extending Hardship Fund Supplemental Payments, which they previously pledged to pay annually to eligible Holocaust survivors through 2027. It has been extended through 2028 and will help more than 127,000 survivors worldwide. Also, non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust, known as Righteous Rescuers, who are currently receiving a monthly pension from the Claims Conference will be eligible to receive home care similar to that provided to Jewish Holocaust survivors.
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Turkey’s Eurofighter Typhoon Jet Deal With UK Includes Weapons Package, Source Says
A Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet flies vertically over a beach during an airshow in Torre del Mar, southern Spain, July 31, 2016. Photo: REUTERS/Jon Nazca
Turkey’s deal to buy 20 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets from Britain for 8 billion pounds ($10.7 billion) also includes a comprehensive weapons package, including MBDA Meteor air-to-air missiles and Brimstone ground attack missiles, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
NATO allies Turkey and Britain signed the deal at a ceremony in Ankara on Monday, in a move aimed at deepening bilateral ties and bolstering Turkish air defenses. Ankara has said it was also seeking 24 more jets, albeit lightly used, from Qatar and Oman.
Some analysts called the deal expensive, although details have not yet been disclosed officially by either party.
“The deal includes a comprehensive weapons package, including the MBDA Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, advanced short-range air-to-air missile and Brimstone ground-attack missile,” the person told Reuters.
The deal comes as Turkey, which is enjoying its warmest ties with the West in years, seeks to take advantage of the advanced warplanes to make up ground with regional rivals such as Israel, which has unleashed strikes across the Middle East this year targeting Iran-backed terrorists.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his government have said Turkey would receive the first of the batch of 20 Typhoons in 2030, and that the deal, for which talks began in 2023, included an option to buy more.
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Israel Says It Conducted Targeted Strike in Northern Gaza, Will Uphold Truce
Israeli military personnel operate on the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, on the day the Israeli military said it had resumed enforcing the Gaza ceasefire agreement after a series of strikes across the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Oct. 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
The Israeli military said on Wednesday it conducted a “targeted” strike in the area of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip targeting an infrastructure site where weapons were stored.
The military said earlier on Wednesday that it had resumed enforcing the Gaza ceasefire agreement and would respond firmly to “any violation” after a series of strikes across the enclave that it said was in response to Hamas violations.
Residents in Gaza City said they heard an explosion in northern Gaza and saw a column of smoke.
Israel had launched airstrikes in Gaza late on Tuesday, saying it acted after an attack by Palestinian terrorists killed one soldier, in the latest challenge to the already fragile ceasefire. Both Hamas and Israel have traded blame for violations of the deal.
AIRSTRIKES TARGETED HAMAS COMMANDER, ISRAEL SAYS
In a separate statement, the military said it had targeted dozens of Hamas terrorists across the enclave on Tuesday, as well as weapons depots and tunnels belonging to the Islamist group. It named five militants, including a Hamas commander, who it said took part in an attack on an Israeli kibbutz during the Oct. 7, 2023, assault that triggered the war.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry said that 46 children and 20 women were among the 104 people killed in Israeli airstrikes since Tuesday. Analysts have long cast doubt on the reliability of such figures, which do not distinguish between civilians and combatants and have been shown in studies to be riddled with inaccuracies.
Despite the bombardments, US President Donald Trump said the US-backed ceasefire was not at risk.
“As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “So, the Israelis hit back, and they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back,” he added.
“Nothing is going to jeopardize” the ceasefire, Trump said. “You have to understand Hamas is a very small part of peace in the Middle East, and they have to behave.”
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said on Wednesday that the attack on the Israeli soldier and the subsequent Israeli airstrikes had been “very disappointing and frustrating for us.”
Qatar, along with Egypt and the US, has been leading efforts to broker peace in Gaza.
Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, al-Thani said Hamas terrorists had been clear they were prepared to give up governance of the enclave, which they have run since 2007. Qatar was pushing them to acknowledge they need to disarm, he said.
An Israeli military official said Hamas had violated the ceasefire by carrying out an attack against Israeli forces who were stationed within the so-called “yellow line”, the deployment line agreed upon in the ceasefire.
Hamas denied responsibility for the attack on Israeli forces in Rafah, in southern Gaza, and said in a statement that it remained committed to the ceasefire deal, which went into effect on Oct. 10.
ACCORD INVOLVES RETURN OF HOSTAGE REMAINS
Under the accord, Hamas released all living hostages in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and wartime detainees, while Israel pulled back its troops and halted its offensive.
Hamas also agreed to hand over the remains of all dead hostages yet to be recovered, but has said that it will take time to locate and retrieve all of the bodies. Israel says the terrorist group can access the remains of most of the hostages.
The issue has become one of the main sticking points in the ceasefire, which Trump says he is watching closely.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said human remains handed over on Monday night belonged to an Israeli killed during Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, whose body was recovered by Israeli forces in the early weeks of fighting.
The Israeli military said that Hamas had planted the remains at an excavation site before calling in a Red Cross team and pretending it had found a missing hostage, to create a “false impression of efforts to locate bodies.”
A 14-minute video published by the military showed three men placing a white bag at an excavation site and then covering it with earth and rocks.
Reuters was able to independently confirm the location of the video, but was unable to verify the date of the video or Israel’s account of what the video showed.
Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.