25 years ago, the Jewish community AMIA in Buenos Aires victims of the atrocious suicide bomb attack. Today, Jewish communities are concerned, because in the network of anti-Semitic Comments to take.
18. July is the 25th anniversary. Times the bomb attack on the Headquarters of the Jewish community in Buenos Aires (AMIA). In the Explosion of an explosives-Laden van 87 people were killed and over 100 injured. It was the biggest attack in the history of Argentina. The backgrounds for the attack were never solved completely. It took almost 21 years, until Argentina’s Parliament a compensation for the injured and the relatives decided.
The anniversary has revived the debate on intolerance, discrimination and anti-Semitism in Latin America. “In Latin America, there is no physically violent anti-Semitism that manifests itself, as in other places of the world in terrorist attacks,” says Ariel Seidler, program Director of the Latin American section of the world Jewish Congress, in an interview with DW. “There is anti-Semitic incidents, but in General, Jewish communities can live their Religion freely,” he adds.
The middle East conflict and anti-Semitism
Ariel yellow lung, a representative of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Latin America, can confirm this statement: “prejudice and hate messages are everywhere, even in Latin America. But, in General, not anti-Semitic is Latin American-influenced Region.” A equating the Jewish community with the state of Israel to be widespread, but. When it come to increased conflict in the Middle East, to take the anti-Semitism in other Parts of the world. “However, we are far from experiencing such things, as in Europe or the United States,” says yellow lung.
Ariel Seidler notes an increase in anti-Semitic Statements made by Latin Americans
According to the last anti-Semitism Index, the American organization Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of had in 2015, 19 percent of the adult population on the American continent, an anti-Semitic attitude. The value is lower than in other regions. For comparison: In Western Europe, he was in 2015, at 24 percent, Eastern Europe at 34 percent, and in the Middle East and North Africa, at 74 percent.
After Seidlers view, anti-Semitism is common in countries such as Paraguay, Cuba, and Guatemala, likewise in Argentina, the country with the largest Jewish population of around 200,000 people: “There is life together and inter-religious dialogue promoted,” he says. The people accepted in a positive sense.
Tensions in Chile and Venezuela
Two countries stand out, however, negative in Chile and Venezuela. “In Chile, the tensions are mainly associated with the conflict in the Middle East and lead to anti-Semitic Statements,” says Seidler. This may also be due to the fact that there are, according to the yellow, the largest Palestinian community outside the Arab world. It employs around 400,000 people. The Jewish community in Chile, about 15,000 members. In Chile, there are many citizens an identification with the desire of the Palestinians to a state of their own.
The representative of the Simon Wiesenthal Center declared that criticism of the policies of an Israeli government should not lead to discrimination of members of the Jewish community. A Jewish Boy, a University visits, should not be of his responsibility for the things that happened in other Parts of the world, he says.
The Argentine Jewish community calls for years, a full investigation of the bomb attack of 1994
In Venezuela “there was during the government of Hugo Chávez, one of the policy propagated anti-Semitism of the left, the Jewish community in less than 20 years, from 20,000 members to below 2,000 to melt,” says yellow lung. He also reports of attacks on synagogues, expropriations, acts of aggression and the treatment of Jews as foreigners in the country. The stigma of being a foreigner, will play an important role in the exclusion of minorities, says yellow lung.
Anti-Semitism on the Internet
Even if the inter-Latin America works with religious life in many Parts well: “The Internet anti-Semitism is spreading more easily,” warns Ariel Seidler. In the context of his work for the world Jewish Congress Seidler analyzes anti-Semitic Remarks in the network. In contrast to the Offline world, there has been a quantitative and qualitative increase of such Statements. “The most extreme and most concrete case of the David strange, who was murdered in 2016 in Uruguay by a Islamists. On the Computer anti, it was found Semitic Material from the Internet,” says Seidler.
Both of the DW interviewed experts emphasize the need for consistent law enforcement in such cases. It is significant, as yellow lung, that the largest attack in Argentina remained from 1994 until today largely unexplored. “In the minds of many people, there is still the idea that it was an attack on the Jewish community, but not to Argentina or Argentine citizens. As long as we continue thus, it is thought, is hardly to be expected that the circumstances will ever be solved completely,” says yellow lung.