The Argentine Government, anxious to save face as a result of the rebuke which it received from President Roosevelt for closing down the Jewish newspapers, has forced Jewish leaders in Buenos Aires to issue a statement saying that no anti-Jewish discrimination has been practiced in Argentina, it was learned here today.
The statement, signed by members of the DAIA, the leading Jewish organization in Argentina, in which all Jewish groups are represented, was made public by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Jewish leaders were summoned to the Ministry of Interior where they were presented with a prepared text and advised to sign it in behalf of the Jews of Argentina.
The move, which was apparently made by the Argentine Government with a view of counteracting President Roosevelt’s comment that the closing down of the Jewish press in Argentina was an “action obviously anti-Semitic in nature and of a character closely identified with the most repugnant features of Nazi doctrine,” was made under the direction of Gen. Gilbert, Argentina’s Minister of Interior. In “asking” the Jewish representatives to lend their signatures to the prepared statement, Gen, Gilbert is reported to have stated that the Jews in Argentina should appreciate the fact that the government is treating them with great leniency.
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