Jewish parents have been urged by the DAIA, central Jewish representative body, to register their children of school age as Jews, in order that they may be excused from taking Catholic religious instruction.
Since 1943 all school children are given such religious instruction unless their parents ask that they be excused. Some Jews have failed to ask exemption for their children, believing that to do so would single them out from their classmates and make them conspicuous.
The educational authorities have not yet replied to the recent protest by the DAIA against the anti-Semitic remarks of Prof. Benjamin Zaccheo, a history instructor in a Buenos Aires normal school. Zaccheo told his classes that ritual murders by Jews were an established fact and also praised the activities of the Spanish Inquisition.
In a statement published in the Paronist newspaper “Democracia,” Zaccheo said that he does not differentiate between Jews and Catholics and expressed surprise that a “responsible organization” such as the DAIA should believe “false” accusations. However, he did not specifically deny making the statements attributed to him.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
