ADL Official Expresses Concern over Future of Latin American Jewry

Concern over the uncertain future of Latin American Jewry, particularly in Argentina, was voiced here by Rabbi Morton M. Rosenthal, head of the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation League’s Latin American Department. Rabbi Rosenthal spoke at a conference on Latin American problems sponsored by the Catholic Inter-American Cooperation Program. He said that Argentina, with the largest Jewish community in Latin America, presents the most acute problem because the Jews there are regarded as “an alien element in the body politic.” He noted that while the military government in Buenos Aires has officially declared that it is not anti-Semitic, many anti-Semites are in positions of power.

Rabbi Rosenthal decried the lack of ‘meaningful programs of inter-religious contact in Latin America.” “By providing liaison between the ADL, the organized Jewish communities in Latin America and the Latin American clergy, we hope to begin the process of dialogue which has been so fruitful in the United States,” he said. There are nearly a half million Jews in Argentina.