Chile’s new President, Dr. Salvador Allende, has assured the Jewish community that it has nothing to fear from his regime and asked for the cooperation of those who are “loyal Jews and loyal citizens.” Dr. Allende, a leftist Socialist, met with Dr. Gil Sinay, president of the Central Committee of the Chilean Jewish community and Dr. Isaac Icekson, president of the Chilean Zionist Federation. Mr. Sinay expressed satisfaction with the sentiments expressed by the Allende coalition during the recent election campaign with regard to freedom of speech, culture and religion. Dr. Allende said he intended to follow that line. He spoke in friendly terms of Israel which he cited as an example of “diligence” and “ability.” He said Chile would work for peace in the Middle East in whatever ways it could. The Chilean election was hotly contested. A broad coalition including both Catholics and Marxists supported Dr. Allende against a right-wing incumbent and other candidates giving rise in some quarters to fears of a Marxist take-over in Chile. The Jewish Agency’s aliyah department in Jerusalem reported last month that it had received numerous inquiries from Chilean Jews about immigration to Israel. The inquiries were apparently based on fears that a leftist regime would be inimical to Jewish interests in Chile.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
