President Raul Alfonsin of Argentina pledged here his continued commitment to human rights and religious freedom in Argentina and vowed to fight intolerance against Jews and other minorities in his country.
The Argentinian President made his pledge last Thursday at the Jewish Theological Seminary(JTS) of America where he received the JTS’s first Centennial Medal for Religious Freedom for his contribution to human rights and religious pluralism in Argentina.
Dr. Gerson Cohen, chancellor of the JTS, said in presenting the medal to Alfonsin: “The Jewish community is giving public recognition to your role in restoring human rights to the people of Argentina.” Cohen said that Alfonsin’s leadership has brought Argentina out of the darkness of military dictatorship “and set it on the path toward justice, economic stability and true democracy.”
Alfonsin warmly thanked the JTS for the award. He said in a short speech in Spanish that a new “international moral order” must be established to guide relations between men and people.
Attending the ceremony was Sen. Gary Hart (D. Col.) who also praised Alfonsin’s leadership. “Today,” Hart said in a short speech, “we applaud the Argentine people for their historic march toward freedom; and we applaud you Mr. President, for your unflinching leadership against anti-Semitism and repression.”
The former Presidential candidate added: “In word and deed, President Alfonsin has made it clear that in Argentina’s renewed democracy there will be no room for repression, and no room for religious persecution of any kind.
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