The Israel Foreign Ministry confirmed today an Argentine report that an Israeli woman was killed a year ago in southern Argentina, but dismissed the additional report that the victim had been killed by Nazis while tracking down Dr. Josef Mengele, the “selection doctor” at the Auschwitz murder factory.
The Buenos Aires newspaper, La Razon, which first reported the alleged track down, said Monday that the victim had been tentatively identified as Nora Eldoc, a 48-year-old Israeli, whose body was found near the mountains of San Carlos de Bariloche, a luxury resort in the area.
The Foreign Ministry said today that the Israel Embassy in Buenos Aires had been notified in March, 1960, by the woman’s sister that Mrs. Nurit Eldad, who was 48, had died on March 12 while mountain-climbing in southern Argentina. According to the Embassy report, Mrs. Eldad arrived in Argentina in December, 1959, for a family visit.
Israeli sources were reported highly skeptical about the story that Mrs. Eldad was on a hunt for Dr. Mengele. Israeli authorities said they had no knowledge whatever that she was engaged in a search for Nazis.
La Razon had reported that it was believed she was killed by a secret Nazi group “formed to protect Nazi war criminals hiding in Argentina.” Rio Negro provincial authorities were reported yesterday as having opened an investigation into the alleged murder.
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.
