Baron Maurice de Hirsch (1831  1896) was a German Jewish businessman and philanthropist. In 1891, he founded the Jewish Colonization Association, or JCA, with the goal of establishing colonies in North and South American for Jews experiencing economic, political, or social oppression in Eastern Europe. These immigrants endured many hardships, but at the height of their success in the 1920s the JCA colonies in Argentina were home to more than 30,000 Jews. Although the farming and herding lifestyle was very different from their life in Eastern Europe, the Jews adapted, eventually becoming Jewish Gauchos (cowboys). Today, very few Jews remain in Moisesville and the other original colonies; most have moved to Argentinas bigger cities.