The DAIA, central representative body of Argentine Jewry, today received a reply from President Juan Peron to its appeal last week that he take measures against anti-Semitic publications in Argentina. The reply pointed out that direct action could not be taken against the newspapers because they enjoy the freedom of the press.
The reply, signed by the President’s secretary, says that the sentiments of the publications cited by the DAIA do not represent the feelings of the Argentine people and that the “President’s opinions regarding the question which has caused you concern are well known and no campaign intending to change them will succeed.” The note concluded with the hope that the expression of the President’s sentiments would allay the fears of the Jewish community.
Earlier, President Peron was quoted by a spokesman of the O.I.A. (Organization Israelita Argentina), pro-Peron Jewish group, as declaring that recent anti-Semitic street incidents which took place here were also directed against the government and were intended to destroy the “prevailing harmony.”
Solomon Chichilnitzky, acting president of the O.I.A., said after a meeting with Peron that the Argentine President assured him that discrimination against Jewish physicians in public hospitals will not be tolerated. Peron also promised to approve the admission to Argentina of 25 Jewish families who will be settled on Jewish Colonization Association land, as well as the entry of 20 Jewish writers now living in Paris, the O.I.A. leader added.
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.
