Rabbi Dr. Abraham M. Hershberg, president of the Union of Rabbis of Latin America, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today that during his recent trip to Chile he had received a promise from President Salvador Allende Gossens “that he will not allow any destruction of the Jewish community.” Noting that 7000 Chilean Jews have left the country since Dr. Allende’s Marxist regime was installed in Oct. 1970, and that the remaining 30,000 have no spiritual leaders, Rabbi Hershberg commented:
“There is full religious freedom in Chile, but the problem of the Arabs that started to bring in the Middle East problem to Chile has arisen, and they started to threaten the Jewish community of Chile.” He was referring to the recent establishment of pro-Arab organizations in that South American country.
Rabbi Hershberg said he had promised to appoint a new rabbi for Chile to replace the incumbent, who is aged. “It is very difficult to find rabbis who speak Spanish,” he added, “but I succeeded in appointing rabbis in Guatemala, Costa Rica and Peru during my good-will trip.” He said he plans a conference of American and Latin American civic leaders in Mexico “to strengthen the spiritual and Torah education life in Latin America.”
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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.
