The need for unity in the Argentine Jewish community was stressed here by Dr. Ricardo Dubrovsky, president of the DAIA, at a press conference held on the eve of the General Assembly of the organization which will take place here this week-end. The DAIA, which is the central representative body of the Jews of Argentina, represents more than 100 institutions, he emphasized, and has been in existence for more than ten years.
Dr. Dubrovsky strongly criticized the establishment of the Jewish Institute for Culture and Information, which announced a program similar to that of the DAIA. The creation of such a new body constitutes a breach of discipline in the organized life of Argentine Jewry, he charged. He emphasized that the founders of the Institute should have tried “to impose their views by democratic means” if they were dissatisfied with the DAIA leadership.
At the same time Dr. Dubrovsky denied that rivalry exists between the DAIA and the newly created pro-Peronist Jewish organization OIA. The DAIA, he said, is a non-political body, while the OIA has a definite political policy. He emphasized that during the joint visit which representatives of both Jewish groups paid recently to President Peron, the delegates of the OIA told Peron that the DAIA represents all Argentine Jews. The relations between his organization and the OIA are friendly, he stated.
A statement published by the Jewish Institute in the press here asserted that the new organization never threatened the existence of the DAIA and never claimed to be the representative body of the Jewish community. outlining the program of the Institute as aiming to defend Jewish rights, promote good will between Jews and non-Jews, and carry on enlightenment activities in behalf of the Jewish state, the statement expressed the belief that the Jewish community will benefit from this program.
“Although accidentally some of our aims may be the same as those of the DAIA, it should be possible through different but well-coordinated ways to reach better results for the community,” the statement added.
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.
