Anti-Semitic propagandists in Ecuador are using the small tradesmen’s resentment of certain government food regulations to stir up anti-Jewish feelings.
Following the appointment of Juan Wurfel, an Austrian non-Jew, as director of food supplies to combat the shortage of essential food commodities and curb rising prices, a leaflet was distributed in Quito charging that Wurfel was a Jew and urging the population to and the “Jewish provocations” of the new food director.
The Leaflet, which was printed on a press previously used for Nazi propaganda literature, was circulated widely despite an official statement by the Jewish community to the effect that Wurfel was not Jewish.
It is expected that the leftist political parties and President Ibarra will issue statements replying to the anti-Semitic propaganda. Shortly after he assumed office last May, after a successful revolution, President Ibarra condemned anti-Semitism and said that there was no place for it in Ecuador.
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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.
