To fight antisemitism in Latin America, one must recognize it - opinion

• Published date: 09 April 2024
• Author: JOSEPH BOUCHARD
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The media's fixation on antisemitism in the West makes sense given that the Jewish Diaspora is concentrated in Western Europe and Anglo-America. But Jews do not only live in "rich" countries, and since the Hamas attacks on Israel, the media has failed to expose the day-to-day dangers faced by Jews living in less prominent regions such as Latin America

For a Jew living in Argentina, Chile, or Mexico, a story condemning an antisemitic attack in Vancouver will only do so much. Stamping out antisemitism across the globe means stamping out antisemitism across the globe, and Latin America should be included in those efforts.

Latin America has long nurtured an antisemitic underbelly that has drawn scant international media attention, even after the October 7 attacks. Latin America is home to approximately 500,000 Jews, including nearly 200,000 in Argentina alone. In Brazil, antisemitic attacks have risen by nearly 1,000% since October 7.

In Peru, right-wing extremists targeted a prominent Peruvian Jewish journalist by screaming antisemitic chants outside his home, including showing posters of rats holding bags of money.

In Nicaragua, Jewish cemeteries have been vandalized and desecrated. Vicente Fox, Mexico's former president, accused presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum – who has Jewish parents – of being "a Jew and foreigner at the same time."

Argentina's new president, Javier Milei, who claims to be an ally of Jewish people and Israel, appointed Rodolfo Barra to be the country's lead prosecutor. Barra belonged to a right-wing group responsible for hundreds of antisemitic attacks, including attacks against synagogues, a violent riot in a Jewish neighborhood, and the murder of a Jewish lawyer. He will now be responsible for prosecuting antisemitism in Argentina.

Political leaders in nearly every Latin American country espouse popular tales about Jewish control of the media, politics, and the economy. Supporters of these antisemitic leaders include José Antonio Kast, the son of a Nazi SS lieutenant and frontrunner for the next Chilean presidential election, and Daniel Jadue, the mayor of Recoleta linked to the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). A number of politicians and associations linked to former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro have also promoted antisemitic conspiracies and espoused neo-Nazi imagery.

In the past, such antisemitism has moved from words to murder.

In 1992, Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) bombed the Israeli...