ANTI-SEMITISM IN ARGENTINA - 1980/03/05

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Argentina Declassification Project - The "Dirty War" (1976-83)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05513869
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: April 3, 2019
• Document Release Date: April 12, 2019
• Publication Date: March 5, 1980

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
NATIONAL FOREIGN ASSESSMENT CENTER
5 March 1980
MEMORANDUM
ANTI-SEMITISM IN ARGENTINA
SUMMARY
Reports of anti-Semitic attitudes among some elements
of the Argentine security forces appear valid. It would
be wrong, however, to assume that these attitudes constitute
official government policy. 35(c)
The present military government in Argentina guarantees
religious freedom and maintains officially correct relations
with the organized Argentine Jewish community. Nevertheless,
an increase in traditional Argentine anti-Semitism coincided
with the fall of the Peron government in 1976. That year,
a number of synagogues were bombed and numerous anti-Semitic
publications appeared on newsstands. The government respond-
ed by closing down the publishing houses responsible for the
anti-Semitic material. Following these incidents junta
President Videla met with Jewish �and other religious leaders
to assure them that his government still supported religious
freedom. A leading rabbi who attended the meeting said
afterward that he hoped that "the Peace and understanding we
found at the President's table are a reflection of what is
to come for Argentina." 3.5(c)
Terrorist violence over the past decade has caused both
the former civilian and current military governments to
This paper was written for Robert Gallagher, Deputy
Director of the Office of Intelligence Liaison at Commerce
35(c) Department International Issues Division,
Office of Political Analysis. It was coordinated with the
Latin America Division of OPA. Comments are welcome and
should be addressed to Chief, Political-Social Issues Branch,
International Issues Division, OPA.
PAM 80-10109
3.5(c)
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3.5(c)
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maintain a "state of siege." As violence mounted, government
security forces employed harsh and brutal methods to deny public
support to the guerrillas and crush the revolution. During
this period thousands of "political prisoners" were detained
or caused to "disappear"--presumably murdered--by security
forces. Various human rights organizations have speculated
on the number of persons abducted by Argentine security
forces between 1976 and 1979 and still unaccounted for.
Estimates range from a low of 6,500 by the Permanent Assembly
for Human Rights in Buenos Aires to a high of 20,000 by
Amnesty International. A portion of these victims were
Jewish and recent reports by survivors indicate that they
were interrogated for their religious beliefs as well as
for their political convictions. 3.5(c)
Further charges of anti-Semitism occurred as a result
of the arrest and detention of liberal publisher Jacobo
Timerman in 1977. Timerman attracted attention through
his newspaper La Opinion which reflected Peronist views
and was judged hostile to the military government. Timerman
�spent nearly two years in detention despite the ruling of
a military court in 1977 that he was not guilty of subversive
acts. The Argentine supreme court also concluded that
Timerman was innocent, but authorities continued to keep
him under house arrest. In September 1979, Timerman
was stripped of his Argentine citizenship and expelled to
Israel. 3.5(c)
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