The Jewish War Veteran scored Mexico’s condemnation of Israel’s rescue operation in Uganda and said that Mexico’s stand was related to its anti-American attitude. Judge Paul Ribner, JWV’s national commander, said that the action by Mexican President Luis Echeverria was “unconscionable” and further strengthened JWV’s continued position urging tourists to “stay out of Mexico.”
In his statement, Ribner said: “So long as Mexico aligns itself with Arab terrorists and seeks only our money, Americans should avoid traveling to Mexico. We should not spend our money in a country whose President obviously is determined to align himself with these forces in the UN who have expressed publicly their hatred of our democratic way of life.”
A tourist boycott was instituted by American and Canadian Jewish and Zionist organizations following Mexico’s vote last November in the General Assembly for the resolution equating Zionism with racism. The boycott was lifted later, after Echeverria met in Mexico City with U.S. and Canadian Jewish leaders and pledged that Mexico would not again participate in any anti-Zionist moves in the UN. Only the JWV continued to call for the boycott.
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.
