Jews in Mexico Concerned over Increased Anti-semitic Propaganda

A sharp increase in circulation of anti-Semitic pamphlets in many of Mexico’s major cities during the last three months is causi### concern to Jews here, the New York Times reported today from Mexico City.

“Their concern has been increased by what they consider to be a concerted anti-Semitic campaign in parts of the Mexican press recently about what they believe to be an unofficial but effective bar against the entry of European and Israeli Jews to Mexico,” the report said. “Distribution of the pamphlets appears to be nation-wide, but they have been found in the greatest numbers in Mexico City, Puebla and Torreon. Issued by an organization calling itself the National Union for Country and Race, the pamphlet accuses the Jews of perpetrating a variety of social and economic evils, and asks “real” Mexicans to boycott Jewish-owned shops.

The anti-Semitic press campaign stems from the attempt of Federal District officials to wipe out the practice of home labor in the textile industry and particularly in dressmaking, the Times report stated. It added that most upsetting to Jewish leaders in Mexico was the statement by Senator Jesus Yuren, secretary general of the Federal District Federation of Workers, who, in an interview with El Nacional, said the great majority of manufacturers guilty of promoting home labor were Jews. If Senator Yuren knew of such cases, the Jewish leaders felt, he should have come forward and named the owners rather than lend his position to support the general anti-Semitic nature of the press attack.

The Times report also draws attention to the fact that while there is no official bar to the entry of Jews into Mexico, Jewish leaders believe there is an effective procedure within Mexican consulates abroad to keep them out. This is said to apply even to tourists, with the exception of visitors from the Americas and occasionally Jewish travelers from dome Western European countries.