Zionist Meetings Banned in Argentina; Police Fear “endangering” Relations with Britain

Zionist meetings have been banned in Argentina following a meeting here March 2 at which Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin’s proposals for a solution of the Palestine problem were attacked by one of the speakers. The mass meeting was organized by the DAIA, central representative body of Argentina Jews, and the Zionist Central Council, which is one of the organizations affiliated to the DAIA.

Shortly before the meeting was held, police officials informed the Jews that speeches “endangering” relations between Argentina and Great Britain were prohibited. They also ordered that all speeches would be made only in Spanish. Police officials attended the meeting and took exception to an address by Dr. Abraham Mibashan, a Zionist leader. The Zionist Council has asked the DAIA to protest the ban.

A press conference by Dr. Moises Kostrynski, an Argentina Poale Zionist leader who recently returned from a visit to Palestine, was cancelled by the police. The excuse given was that previous authorization had not been sought or granted by the police. Since the war ended no one has sought authorization for the press conferences, which was a war-time restriction. Jewish circles here believe that both restrictions were made under British pressure.

JEWISH DELEGATION NOT PERMITTED TO SEE PRESIDENT PERON

Earlier last week, a delegation of 200 Jews who called on President Juan Peron were kept waiting two hours and were then sloughed off by an aide without being permitted to see the President. The delegation which had called to thank Peron for permitting a number of Jewish refugees to enter Argentina following the refusal of Brazilian authorities to allow them to land because their visas had expired in transit, included 41 of the refugees and representatives of the DAIA and major Jewish organizations. The Jews believe that the action came as a result of the activities of the newly-formed Organization Israelite Argentina.

The OIA was organized last month as a Jewish party to support the Peron regime and has asked the president to permit it to become affiliated with his nationalistic party. In advertisements in the Jewish press, the group has this weekend declared it supports Peron because he has upon many occasions declared that he does not support racial prejudice and because legislation of his government has benefited “thousands of Jewish workers in Argentina.” The OIA has called upon all Argentine Jews to join it, stating that it “watches the interests of the Jewish community” and “cooperates with the government in its plans for economic and social reconstruction.”