Arab Chileans
Arab Chileans (Spanish: Árabes Chilenos; Arabic: العرب في تشيلي) are Chileans from predominantly Arab ancestry. People from the Arab world arrived in Chile as early as the mid-19th century. Historically, the Arabs of Chile were called Turks, Moors, Syrians, Lebanese, or Palestinians.
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Over 800,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Valparaíso, La Serena, Santiago | |
| Languages | |
| Chilean Spanish, Arabic | |
| Religion | |
| Eastern Orthodoxy · Catholicism, with Sunni Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians |
It is estimated that 800,000 Chileans are chiefly descendants of immigrants from the Middle East (i.e., Palestinians, Syrians, Lebanese, and Middle East Armenians). Roughly 500,000 of these are Palestinian descendants. It is one of the largest Palestinian communities outside of the Arab world. Many of them are descendants from Christian immigrants from several places in the Levant. The earliest such migrants came in the 1850s, with others arriving during World War I and after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. In April 2008, Chile took 117 Palestinian refugees from the Al-Waleed refugee camp. The situation in Gaza has led to increased hostility toward Jews in Chile.
Arab Chileans have been an influential group in Chilean society since the first half of the twentieth century. Starting in textile industry and trade, in the last quarter of the 20th century they formed holdings with important investments in finance, pension funds, insurance, real estate, retail and sports.
The community has established important institutions. The Club Palestino stands out as one of the most prestigious social clubs in Santiago. The Christian Orthodox built the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Santiago and All Chile in Santiago in 1917. It is a cathedral of the Church of Antioch with six parishes.