President Julio Maria Sanguinetti of Uruguay, describing his country as a pluralistic society, told a group of American Jewish leaders here that “He who is not a good Jew cannot be a good Uruguayan.”
Sanguinetti, who was elected in 1984, met with a delegation representing the American Jewish Committee, headed by AJC president Theodore Ellenoff. They hailed him for his leadership in restoring democracy to Uruguay and for his often stated and deeply felt friendship for Israel and the Jewish people. Ellenoff presented the Uruguayan leader with a lithograph engraved with words from Deuteronomy: “Justice, Justice Shalt Thou Pursue.”
Sanguinetti emphasized his government’s concern for human rights, including the plight of Soviet Jews and reaffirmed the important role of the Jewish community in Uruguayan life. He visited Israel last May and that same month became the first Latin American chief of state to address an Israel Independence Day rally.
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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.
