The Chilean Jewish community has sharply denounced the charges made by a former Senator that Jews were responsible for the economic ruin of the country, the World Jewish Congress reported today.
The former Senator, Armando Jaramillo Lyon, levelled the charge during a radio program called “Open Dialogue” in which the political situation in the country was being debated. Remarking on the desperate state of the economy, he declared: “Why should we not say that this is due to a plan implemented by Jews, too, and it is they who, at this moment, are actively promoting a whole economic process which has apparently led to the destruction and extermination of our country’s economy.”
In a swift response, the Comite Representative de las Entidades Judias de Chile, the representative body of Chilean Jewry and the WJCongress affiliate here, published a denunciation of this “anti-Jewish incitement.” The statement was signed by Dr. Wemer Apt. president of the Comite, and Heman Fischman, secretary-general.
The two Jewish leaders reported that Jaramillo Lyon went even further when he later sought to “explain” his remarks. He said that “(the American economist)Milton Friedman belongs to the synagogue as do his assistants” and that he had been criticizing only “the Jew Friedman.”
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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.
