On May 17, an anti-Semitic incident outside the Israeli embassy rocked Buenos Aires, as members of Argentina's Jewish community, celebrating Israel’s 61st anniversary, were attacked by a gang of youths reportedly wielding clubs, arms, at least one knife, and one pistol. The following day, two synagogues received bomb threats.
Five people were arrested, including members of the radical group “Quebracho,” and government officials strongly condemned the incident.
However, many in the Jewish community and several major media outlets are criticizing the lack of appropriate security measures taken by the government. The two major newspapers in Argentina (Clarín and La Nación) each published editorials in which they criticize the lack of appropriate security and called for a throughout investigation. The Israeli Foreign Ministry also demanded that the incident be investigated.
B'nai B'rith Argentina issued a statement calling these acts “sponsored and perpetrated by groups that share an ideology of hatred and calls on the authorities to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to investigate and prevent the repetition of this kind of attacks—which threaten the peaceful coexistence of the Argentine people and are unacceptable in a state of law.”
In declaring the support of B’nai B’rith International for the Argentine B’nai B’rith statement, International President Moishe Smith called the incident “deplorable,” and urged both the city and state governments “to step up their investigation of the individuals and organizations that perpetrate such acts and punish them to the fullest extent of the law to deter those who might perpetrate such incidents in the future.”
News and 