MEXICO 2005

 

Thirty-seven antisemitic incidents were reported in 2005, one more than in 2004. As in previous years, most were offensive e-mails received by Jewish institutions but there were also cases of insults shouted at Jews, threatening phone calls and anti-Jewish graffiti near synagogues and in largely Jewish neighborhoods. The dynamics of the Israeli-Arab conflict have had a major impact on the mass media where anti-Israel positions are frequently mixed with antisemitic stereotypes.

 

The Jewish Community

The Jewish community numbers about 40,000, out of a total population of 104 million. Most Jews live in the capital Mexico City and its suburbs, while the rest are located in the cities of Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana and Cancun.

            Jewish immigrants to Mexico formed communities according to their place of origin, a way of life that has persisted until today. All the communities, together with the Jewish Sports Center, are represented in the Jewish Central Committee of Mexico (JCCM). Tribuna Israelita, its public opinion and analysis agency, promotes an ongoing dialogue with opinion leaders and implements joint projects with various national organizations. In November 2005, Tribuna Israelita participated in the International Book Fair in Guadalajara, displaying material and books about Judaism, Israel, antisemitism and the Jewish presence in Mexico.

High enrolment in Jewish day schools (more than 90 percent) and a very low rate of intermarriage (6 percent) characterize the community, which has a wide range of welfare, religious and educational services. A variety of periodicals published monthly reflect the different political, cultural and ideological views in the community.

 

Antisemitic activities and racist groups

Harassment and Insults

Thirty-seven antisemitic incidents were reported in 2005, one more than in 2004. As in previous years, most were offensive e-mails received by Jewish institutions. Although no violent antisemitic incidents were recorded, there were several cases of insults shouted at Jews as well as threatening phone calls, such as one received on 15 April by the Sephardic School.

Anti-Jewish graffiti, mainly swastikas, were found in the environs of synagogues as well as in neighborhoods with large Jewish populations. Throughout the year, a stand at the La Lagunilla public market sold a variety of Nazi memorabilia. In September a group of street vendors organized a protest outside the Ministry of Health; one of the signs read: “All the problems are caused by Jews.”

            At the end of September and beginning of October, swastikas and antisemitic graffiti (such as “Jewish pig”) against Dr. Santiago Levy, director of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS − Government Social Security Institute), were painted on the walls and sidewalks of the IMSS offices, and participants in demonstrations of the IMSS Worker’s Union shouted antisemitic expressions. The workers’ were protesting a new law being promoted by Levy to change some of the union’s benefits. The Jewish community issued a condemnatory press release, which gained the immediate support of the media, the government and the authorities, including the president. Within an hour of the community statement, the union sent a letter apologizing and denying any official participation. The incident was condemned by various media organs in the following days. The CONAPRED (National Council to Prevent and Eradicate Discrimination), the center-left PASDC (Social Alliance Democratic and Farmers Party), and the IMSS all files suits against the union and, following a hearing before the CONAPRED, the workers were ordered to participate in a seminar on discrimination.

 

Propaganda

There are no overtly antisemitic radio stations, newspapers or television broadcasters; however, some articles in mainstream publications contained antisemitic references: for example, “… [the Jews] own all the dollars and the gold in Mexico and they can take it with them” (José Carlos Robles, El Sol de Medio Día, 6 July).

On 14 May, during a morning news program transmitted on Radio Centro, the host, Héctor Martínez Serrano argued that “before talking about the seriousness of the Holocaust we should know the motives and know more… it is a topic inflated by the Jews who control the propaganda and are powerful within the media… it was not a lie, but its not such an important topic.”

            The dynamics of the Israeli-Arab conflict have had a major impact on the mainstream media where anti-Israel positions are frequently mixed with antisemitic stereotypes. “… Sharon is transforming the Palestinian territory into an immense extermination camp, just like Hitler. Sharon can be compared to Hitler” (José Cabrera Parra, La Crisis, 6 July).

            Left-wing demonization of Israel is often linked to traditional anti-Americanism: “The United States and Israel base their economies in the armament industries… On the pretext of combating terrorism, they reserve the ´right´ to determine who they consider terrorist and protect the terrorists that work for them” (Gilberto López y Rivas, La Jornada, 17 July). “Who can stop the beast? In the name of ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom’, nations such as Afghanistan and Iraq have been totally destroyed by the ‘international community’. And an entire people, Palestine, tenaciously and heroically resists the extermination policy imposed by Israel” (José Steinsleger, La Jornada, 23 Nov.).

            In the anti-Zionist discourse, including in the mainstream media, Israel is portrayed as the perpetual aggressor and its argument of self-defense is regarded as a pretext to launch new ‘fascist’ and ‘racist’ attacks. . “Unfortunately, Jews consider themselves the Chosen People. This idea – openly racist and segregationist in favor of the so called Children of Abraham, has been used as an excuse to justify all types of aggression against people whom they consider inferior” (Ricardo Monroy D´Garde, Unomasuno, 22 Sept.).

            The Protocols of the Elders of Zion was sold in some bookstores and coffee shops. In August the books were removed from the shelves as part of a campaign run by Tribuna Israelita to sensitize the public to the danger of distributing such literature.

Although local and international copyright laws forbid the publication of Mein Kampf in Mexico, the book is available in bookstores and at illegal stands in downtown Mexico City, where Nazi insignia and memorabilia can also be found.

 

responses to racism and Antisemitism

Representatives of the Jewish community of Mexico and of the Latino and Latin American Institute of the American Jewish Committee organized a visit to Poland and Israel for a delegation of Catholic bishops from both Mexico and the United States, headed by the Archbishop of Mexico, Cardinal Norberto Rivera. The purpose of the visit was to strengthen relations with the Catholic Church, and to educate about the Holocaust and the creation of the State of Israel.

As part of its campaign to promote a more positive image of Israel and the Jewish community, Tribuna Israelita, in conjunction with the National Council for the Prevention of Discrimination, published the book 60 years after the Liberation of Auschwitz: Reflections of the Mexican Press, an anthology of more than 30 articles that appeared in the national media by well-known Jewish and non-Jewish journalists and intellectuals (see ASW 2004).