URUGUAY 2006

 

There were several antisemitic/anti-Zionist manifestations in Uruguay in 2006, especially during the Second Lebanon War.

 

the jewish community

The Jewish community of Uruguay is estimated at about 25,000 out of a population of 3.2 million. The majority of Jews live in the capital Montevideo, with a smaller community in the city of Paysandú. Jewish families are scattered throughout other parts of the country but not in organized communities. The Comité Central Israelita del Uruguay (CCIU), embracing some 60 communities and organizations, functions as the national Jewish representative body. There are a number of well-attended Jewish day schools and several publications.

 

antisemitic activities

Uruguay is not an antisemitic society and there is no specific antisemitic press. Nevertheless, there were several antisemitic manifestations in 2006, especially during the Second Lebanon War.

In September, antisemitic graffiti defaming the general director of the Tax Authority, Eduardo Zaindesztadt, as well as the Jewish community, appeared in the streets of Montevideo. The CCIU condemned the act, claiming it infringed the anti-discrimination law. They alleged that those behind it had been paid by the lawyer of the traditional-liberal Red Party (Partido Colorado), Alberto Jar Sanchez, out of antisemitic motives. Sanchez and the perpetrators were tried and sentenced to prison terms. The Directorate of Human Rights (an NGO) also censured the deed. After his release from prison, Alberto Jar Sanchez requested a meeting with Jewish community leaders in order to apologize to “those who had been offended.” The CCIU rejected his approach, claiming he had not assumed personal responsibility.

Nazi and antisemitic graffiti appeared throughout the year in the streets of Montevideo and elsewhere in the country. For example, a Star of David equated with a dollar sign was reported on 21 March in Guayabo Street, behind the University of the Republic’s (Universidad de la República) law faculty. Stars of David equated with swastikas and Nazi symbols, among other graffiti, appeared in April in the neighborhood of Pocitos, where a large part of the Jewish community lives. In May, after Israel’s Independence Day, similar graffiti was reported in the neighborhood of Parque Rodo, near the Holocaust memorial, as well as on the monument itself. After the latter incident, Ricardo Ehrlich, mayor of Montevideo, actually cleaned the memorial himself. However, the graffiti reappeared in August.

On 24 April, antisemitic graffiti appeared on the walls of the northern city of Paysandu when the Israeli ambassador was visiting.

One of the most infamous ritual murder canards of the Middle Ages continues to be told in the contemporary Catholic world − in Spain, in particular, but in South America, too. On the Saint of the Day program broadcast on the Catholic radio station Radio Oriental (CX12), on 27 October, the narrator said in connection with Saint Dominguito de Val: “[The Spanish boy] was a particularly devoted child who was sacrificed by the Jews on Good Friday [in the year 1250].”

There was an upsurge in antisemitic manifestations during the Second Lebanon War, including antisemitic/anti-Zionist graffiti such as swastikas equated with the Star of David, posters and press articles, and anti-Israel rallies, some of which bore anti-Zionist motifs. Left-wing and human rights organizations, such as Partido de los Trabajadores (the Workers’ Party), joined with Arab groups, such as FEARAB, and especially Lebanese groups, in organizing several such demonstrations. On 14 August, Israeli and US flags were burned during a youth march which commemorated the death of a demonstrator in the past and had nothing to do with Jewish/Middle East issues. However, it should be stated that most events were held to evince solidarity with the Lebanese people.

A series of posters showing skeletons were pasted on the Holocaust memorial in Montevideo on 20 August. In the same period the website indymedia uruguay posted photos of alleged Israel massacres with the caption, “They did it to show the Zionist people that they are carrying out a Holocaust against the Palestinian and Lebanese people.”

The radical left La Juventud is consistently and vehemently anti-Israel and anti-American. During the Second Lebanon War and the war in Gaza, a regular editorial column, entitled “Apuntes para la reflexión [Points for reflection],” listed alleged atrocities committed by Israel. In addition, the word ‘Holocaust’ was often used to depict events in Gaza and Lebanon. For example, an article by Irene Ramos was published under the title “Gaza Is Undergoing a Bloody Holocaust,” while on 6 August, an editorial stated: “In the Middle East, the US, together with Israel, is carrying out a new Holocaust against the people of Lebanon and Palestine.”

Another theme was to allege that the Uruguayan Jewish community was an agent of international imperialism. An editorial dated 26 July, describing the solidarity rally with Israel (see below) referred to the CCUI president as “an agent of international capitalism.” An editorial (7 Aug.,) headed “Wars of Conquest,” alleged that Israel’s summer war in Gaza and the Second Lebanon War were led by “the eagles of Tel Aviv, the defenders of imperialistic wars in the Middle East.”.

On the other hand, several former presidents of the republic, such as Jorge Batlle and Luis Alberto Lacalle, as well as official representatives, took part in a pro-peace solidarity rally with Israel organized by the CCIU on 24 July, together with the Zionist Organization and the Zionist Youth Federation.

Interviewed in the mainstream newspaper La Republica, on 4 May, the Iranian ambassador in Uruguay said: "The CCIU accused the Iranian government, this embassy and me of being antisemites. This is a great lie and we are not in a mood to speak with liars and those who want to defend Zionist policy. We are not against Jews. We are anti-Zionists.” In the newspaper’s section “Voces del Frente,” CCIU president Ernesto Kreimerman contended that while Iran hid its diplomats who were responsible for the AMIA bombing in 2004, the ambassador defended his government.