The release of the fourth member of an Argentine family which had been abducted from their Cordoba home in August, 1977, and subsequently jailed, was today hailed by the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith as “a welcome development.” The plight of the Deutsch family had gained international attention. In the U.S., many members of Congress voiced concern about their arrest and prolonged detention.
According to Rabbi Morton M. Rosenthal, director of ADL’s Latin American affairs department, Alejandro Deutsch, an Argentine businessman who had been arrested with his wife and three daughters, was released from jail on March 27. His wife, Helena, and two of the daughters, Susana and Elena, were released last October.
Alejandro Deutsch’s freedom came three months after Argentine Federal Judge Adolfo Zamboni Ledesma ruled that there were no legal grounds for continuing to hold him and the third Deutsch daughter, Liliana. Judge Zamboni Ledesma, on December 28, 1977, therefore ordered their “immediate release.”
In a telephone conversation with Rosenthal, a sister of Alejandro Deutsch, Marta Alberts of Los Angeles, said she is “delighted” that her brother has been freed. She added, however, that in view of Judge Ledesma’s order, she is “surprised and disappointed that the authorities did not also release my niece, Liliana, who is 17 and the youngest of the Deutsch children.”
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.
