Arab Hate Campaign in Latin America Termed Effort to Undermine Jewish-arab Amity

The World Jewish Congress has launched a special effort to counteract anti-Semitism and mounting Arab propaganda campaigns in Latin America, according to a report released today by Marc Turkow, Secretary-General of the Latin American Jewish Congress whose headquarters is in Buenos Aires. Mr. Turkow, who was in New York this week on the way back to Argentina after attending the recent meeting in Israel of the Executive Committee of the WJC, reported that the Arab propaganda campaign has received considerable financial support from agents of the Arab League and from Arab embassies.

“While Arab propaganda focused ostensibly on Zionism and Israel. It tried in reality to undermine the existing friendly relations between the Arab and Jewish communities of Latin America as well as the relations between Jews and other sections of the Latin American population,” Mr. Turkow stated. (Earlier this week Isidoro Zarco, a prominent member of Guatemala’s Jewish community was mysteriously murdered. Police are investigating the murder of the 57-year-old sub-editor of the newspaper Prensa Libre. So far, no motive has been established for the slaying and no clues reported.)

The Jews of Latin America, Mr. Turkow said, are making important contributions toward general progress and they are often prominent in the cultural, economic, and scientific efforts of the countries in which they live as loyal citizens. Mr. Turkow reported that of the close to one million Jews in Latin American countries more than half live in Argentina. “All the Jewish communities in this continent are vigorous and well organized,” he stated. “The Jewish people in Latin America, Mr. Turkow continued, are linked with the Jewish people throughout the world through the WJC, their close cooperation with the Zionist movement and their solidarity with the State of Israel. The problem of Jewish continuity is being taken very seriously and much attention is being paid to Jewish education and the fight against anti-Semitism.”