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Appeal to Hias Discloses Bias in Costa Rica

November 13, 1934
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A new anti-Semitic movement in the little Central American republic of Costa Rica is exposed in an appeal for help just received by the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society, HIAS, from the Jewish community there.

Copies of the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” and other anti-Semitic literature are being circulated throughout the country and Jews are held up as enemies of Christianity. The Jewish community has appealed to the HIAS for American Jewish intervention.

The Jewish population of Costa Rica consists of 350 men, women and children most of whom came from Poland during the past three years. They earn their living by peddling and through small industries, created by and for the peddlers. They are fairly prosperous and employ more than 1,000 workers.

Their success has, however, aroused the jealousy of some of the local merchants and led to attacks in the local Spanish press.

The Jewish community, which possesses three institutions, a Zionist organization, a Jewish Center and a free loan fund, has now organized a Central Jewish Committee to protect its interests.

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