Four arson attempts against Jewish institutions in Rosario have badly shaken the 12,000-member Jewish community in that city, the second largest in Argentina.
According to the Latin American branch of the World Jewish Congress, all four attempts occurred over a short period of time. The most recent targeted the Bikur Holim, a charitable institution which provides medical services and distributes medicine free to Jewish and non-Jewish poor. It followed by only a few days attempted arson at the Sephardic synagogue in Rosario.
Leaders of the Jewish community, supported by the DAIA, the representative body of Argentine Jews, have denounced the series of incidents and complained directly to the Governor of Santa Fe province where Rosario is located.
Rosario is a major industrial and port city on the River Plate, northwest of Buenos Aires. The province is governed by the opposition Peronist Party. Jewish leaders have remarked at the impunity with which the Jewish institutions were attacked. All of them are located in the center of the city.
Analysts seeking to identify the culprits have noted the existence of pro-fascist groups among the Peronistas with a history of anti-Semitism. But in the absence of concrete evidence, the identity of the arsonists remains a matter of speculation for the time being.
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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.
