Government of Argentina Denounced As Anti-semitic

The British delegate to the United Nations Committee on Human Rights, which is meeting here, denounced the government of Argentina as anti-Semitic and said that the arrest of Jacobo Timerman, the Jewish journalist, was an example of official anti-Semitism. He stated that for those who remember what happened to Jews during the Third Reich, the current events in Argentina were alarming. The Argentine delegate replied that there was no anti-Semitism in his country and that the arrest of Timerman was in no way connected with his being Jewish.

Timerman, in his recently published book, “Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number,” documented the growth of Nazism and anti-Semitism in Argentine prisons and in the country as a whole, and the massive violations of human rights which cut across religious and ethnic lines. Timerman was imprisoned, tortured and held in jail for several years without any charges brought against him. He was eventually expelled and now resides in Israel.

The meeting of the committee was also brought up to date on the terrorist attack on a synagogue in Vienna last Saturday during which two people were killed and 18 wounded. Uzi Manor, the Israeli delegate, asked the committee to officially condemn the terrorist act.

The International Council of Jewish Women’s delegate denounced the act and said that the violence in Vienna was another example of “the false and pernicious equation between Zionism and racism.” She was referring to the infamous 1975 United Nations Security Council resolution which condemned Zionism as a form of racism. The delegate also urged the committee to condemn Saturday’s atrocity.

Meanwhile, the Jewish community of Geneva has asked the city’s police department for special security measures at the Hebrew school, community center and synagogues following the attack in Vienna. The community traditionally asks for special police security during the High Holy Days, but this year it has asked for immediate security measures.