'He(Argentina Jewish Zionist newspaper magnate Jacobo Timmerman) also writes that during the years 1974-78 he remembers hearing that Jewish girls in these undisclosed cells experienced twice as much sexual abuse and rape as non-Jewish women'.......- Gaddi Goren,NY Binghamton University
I HAVE ALREADY WRITTEN THAT I CAN FIND NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVEROF ANY ARGENTINE JEWISH WOMAN GETTING PREGNANT BEFORE OR AFTER HER CAPTIVITY
EVEN THOUGH AT LEAST 500 ARGENTINE CATHOLIC WOMEN WERE EITHER captured while preganant or made pregnant by military sadists and rapists holding them in captivity keeping them alive long enough to bare a baby and then visciouly,sadistically murdering them.
If present Israeli Jewish Zionist propaganda now claims (years after the facts and cover ups by all parties involved including Israel and the Catholic Church of Pope Francis and the Argentine government itself),that over 10% of all Argentinians ,male and female,murdered and imprisoned by Argwentina military junta were Jewish then Jewish women would have to account for about 10%+ of all 500 or so babies or fetuses that were put up for adoption or dispossed of wouldn't they ?
Rape Of Argentine Jewish Women ,A Pope Francis
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1 jun. 2015 - No Evidence So Far Of Deaths Or Murder Of Argentine Jewish WomenOr Military Rape Pregnancies. Rape Of Argentine Jewish Women ,A ...No Evidence So Far Of Deaths Or Murder Of Argentine ...
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1 jun. 2015 - Rape Of Argentine Jewish Woimen A Pope Francis Bergoglio,Israel Zionist .... '
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2 jun. 2015 - Imagen de la noticia para pope francis military junta vatican ... Rape OfArgentine Jewish Women ,A Pope Francis Bergoglio,Israel Zionist Hoax?:No Evidence So Far Of Deaths Or Murder Of Argentine Jewish Women Or ...The Jewish Experience under the Military Dictators in Chile
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4 dic. 2014 - However, in Argentina the military leaders saw the Jewish minority and their ... When the junta in Chile successfully overthrew the communist government on .... twice as much sexual abuse and rape as non-Jewish women.
Timmerman elucidates that there are two explanations as to the treatment of the Jews, one being from the Argentine government and the other from the Jewish community. The current and past military government of course denies having discriminated against Jews and asserts that episodes of torture or violations of Jewish girls were isolated affairs. [29] The Jewish community on the other hand believes that the “isolated episodes” far surpassed the government’s claims and that Jews, like Timmerman, were arrested without a formal accusation. [30] He also writes that during the years 1974-78 he remembers hearing that Jewish girls in these undisclosed cells experienced twice as much sexual abuse and rape as non-Jewish women. [31]
Jewish Experience in Argentina:
After engaging in extensive research, reading testimonies of Jewish prisoners, and interviewing Juana Nuger whose son Heron is classified as a desaparecido, I was able to progressively gain a more accurate understanding of how the Jews were perceived by the military. A reoccurring theme among the stories of the survivors was the “special” treatment that they received while under investigation. Several torturing methods used in Argentina greatly resemble those of the Nazis. It is not surprising, given Argentina’s record on anti-Semitism that a ruling body of government would act against the Jews if given the opportunity to do so. Jacobo Timmerman, is the author of an autographical book called Prisoner without a Name, Cell without a Number, in which he retells him experiences while being sentenced to the infamous clandestine cells. [28] He goes into detail about certain events in which the investigators acted in a more ruthless manner when his Jewish identity was revealed. He also discusses how it was common for the military to use Nazi symbols as a way to intimate Jewish prisoners. Similar experiences are also seen in the “Comisión Israeli por los Desaparecidos Judios en Argentina” which is an Israeli sponsored Commission that successfully gathered detailed interviews of family members of los desaparecidos who lived through those scary years in Argentina. It also has several editorials by experts about the military’s involvement in discriminating against Jews. Fortunately, there is a copious amount of primary sources and personal accounts that will help present a vivid portrayal of the coercion the Jews in Argentina had to undergo during those years.
When reading Timmerman’s description of the clandestine cells he specifically notes that although it was unpleasant for non-Jews and Jews alike, he is graphic in portraying the maltreatment of Jewish prisoners and their relationship with the investigators. Timmerman was held in three different secret locations and two legal prisons throughout 1976-83. The Argentine government insists that he was not arrested for being a journalist or a Jew, yet they never gave a specific reason for his detainment. It is ironic because Timmerman did firmly believe in the need to combat terrorism within the boundaries of Argentine law. However, he could never properly explain that to the military. He also thinks a major reason for his kidnapping was because he was a passionate Jew and Zionist; something that made the military became wary of his activities.
Timmerman elucidates that there are two explanations as to the treatment of the Jews, one being from the Argentine government and the other from the Jewish community. The current and past military government of course denies having discriminated against Jews and asserts that episodes of torture or violations of Jewish girls were isolated affairs. [29] The Jewish community on the other hand believes that the “isolated episodes” far surpassed the government’s claims and that Jews, like Timmerman, were arrested without a formal accusation. [30] He also writes that during the years 1974-78 he remembers hearing that Jewish girls in these undisclosed cells experienced twice as much sexual abuse and rape as non-Jewish women. [31]
Jacobo Timmerman also addresses certain tribulations that were allocated only for the Jews. For instance, he remembers being interrogated in a room that hung pictures of Hitler and swastikas. He also recalls the special tortures invented for Jews, the reduced food for Jewish prisoners, poor treatment towards Rabbis who would visit, and the constant insults he received when officers would shout at him in a furious yet self-gratifying way –“Jew!” [32] When describing the officers who dealt with the Jews he writes, “[T]orturing a Jewish prisoner always yielded a moment of entertainment to the Argentine security forces, a certain pleasurable, leisurely moment.” [33] He also recounts the story of a seventy year old man at the prison of Coti Martínez who was beaten senselessly by policemen because he was suspected of being Jewish. When they discovered that he was wearing a cross they accused him of trying to hide his Jewish identity. When Timmerman later meet him in the cell they shared, he pondered on the idea that this man, although a practicing Catholic, was beaten on the belief that he is a Jew. [34] As descriptive as Timmerman’s work is in portraying the way Jews were targeted and humiliated by the military, his story is neither unique nor original given that other Jews found themselves in similar situations.
The Israeli government arranged a special commission whose task was to seek and document the stories from relatives of Jews in Argentina whose loved ones were taken by the Argentine government and were never to return. The “Comisíón Israeli por los Desaparecidos Judios en Argentina,” was able to put together a collection of interviews of Argentine Jews whose family members were victims of the right-wing military regime. This commission’s goal is to secure the authenticity of the stories and unsure they do not go unforgotten. This commission also worked on accumulating information about the Argentine government’s actions on kidnapping and torturing Jews. In an article put together called “El terrorismo de estado en 1976-1983 sobre el transfondo de la política argentina en el siglo XX” by Luis Roniger and Mario Sznajder, there is a detailed analyses of the situation that many Jews found themselves in since they were perceived by those in power as the unwanted and menacing minority. Another comprehensive article that helps in grasping how Jews were subjugated to extreme torment can be seen in “Informe sobre la situacion de los detenidos-desaparecidos judios durante el geocidio perpetrado en Argentina” by Maris Braylan, Daniel Feierstein, Miguel Galante, and Adrian Jmelnizky. After reading numerous first hand accounts, as well as these articles, one can understand the mistreatment that many Jews suffered as a result of their religious background. This will undoubtedly verify that the Argentine military regime discriminated and targeted Jews, even those who were not associated with Leftist activities.
Among the extensive list of interviews provided by the “Comisíón Israeli por los Desaparecidos Judios en Argentina”, is the testimony by Nora Strejilevich who was kidnapped at the age of twenty-six on July 16th, 1977 and released four days later. [35] As fortunate as she is to be alive, her relatives Gerardo Strejilevich, Graciela Barroca, and Hugo Strejilevich did not bear the same fate and were eventually categorized asdesaparecidos. [36] During her interview, she states that the reason for her interrogation was that she was Jewish and her anticipated one year trip to Israel to work. She was intensely questioned about her planned voyage to leave the country and go to Israel. Her first thought when the military appeared in her house was that she would probably end up dead or forever missing. Strejilevich had heard rumors of people disappearing and never returning.
When she was taken away on that dreadful day, she had a book in her bag called “Oh Jerusalem,” which only provoked the officers to further ask her about the Jewish agency and their Zionist activities. The officers assumed that Zionist organizations were somehow involved in Leftist plots against the government. Upon entering the detainment center, she recalls being shouted at “judia de mierda, vamos a hacer jamón con vos y aunque no haya hecho nada las vas a pagar por judia.” [37] Strejilevich also remembers overhearing the guards discuss about two different torturing cells, one which was specially designed for the Jews in order to forcefully collect information. When she was finally let free, the officers ordered her to believe that she had not visited anywhere, heard anything, and that nothing happened, otherwise her family would undergo severe consequences. She had done nothing illegal, yet was treated like a criminal.
This is not the only case which accounts for Jews receiving harsher treatments while under military custody. Marcelo Weisz Gustavo was kidnapped on February 16, 1978 at the age of twenty-six; he was never again to be seen by anyone. He was taken to the prison called “El Turco Julian” which was notorious for its open anti-Semitism and its extreme torturing of Jewish inmates. [38] When asked about the punishments and torturing of Jews at this particular camp, his mother, Ruth Paradise de Weisz answered,“cualquier tipo de tortura es terrible pero eso tipo de tortura…imaginense.” [39] There is also the story of Fernando Ruben Brodsky who was twenty three years old when he was taken away on August 14, 1979. His family is convinced that he was kidnapped because he was Jewish. Sara Silberg de Brodsky, Fernando’s mother, states that her son was given more torture than normal because he was a Jew. Once while talking to Fernando on the phone, she recalls him describing that while under interrogation the soldiers would ask him about certain aspects of Judaism that he was not able to answer, and as a punishment for his ignorance he was further castigated.
An Argentine Jewish woman by the name of Juana Nuger, whom I personally interviewed, told me the story of her disabled son Heron who was taken away in front of her. He was kidnapped due to his Leftist activities that he and his brother were involved in. [40] She believes that although being Jewish may have factored in on his abduction, it was not the sole reason. According to Juana, many Jews, such as her son, were participants in Leftist politics; therefore, as a result many innocent Jews were also seen as being a threat and were deemed automatically an enemy of Argentina. This led to fear amongst Jewish communities because anyone could be marked as a potential enemy. While singling out an already disliked minority group, the Argentine government attempted to categorize all Jews under one branch of politics. Juana believes that since the Red Scare was sweeping the world, and Jews were often been unfairly connected to communism, it was a scary time being a Jew in any country that viewed Leftist thinking as threatening, as was the case in Argentina. [41]
These testimonies by Jewish sources give credibility to the accusation that the military government throughout the years 1976-83 openly discriminated against Jews. A few explanations given as to why Jews in Argentina were heavily discriminated by the military is because of the abundance of anti-Semitic beliefs in Argentinean society, a predisposition that Jews poised a threat to their power, and simply because the Jews were not seen as being genuinely Argentinean. Therefore, targeting Jews whether involved with Leftist politics or not could be favorable in order to dismiss any disruption to their dictatorship. According to Sergio Starlik, the military investigators were watchful about the activities of Jewish organizations, sports clubs, synagogues, and the overall Jewish community in Argentina. [42] One must wonder why Chile, a country also ruled by a right-wing military leader who loathed communists, did not see Jews as a threat, while in Argentina, where Jews consisted of only one percent of the country’s population, ten percent of the people who disappeared were Jews. [43]
In the Israeli government supported-article “El Terrorismo de estado en 1976-1983 sobre el transfondo de la politica argentina en el silo XX,” by Luis Roniger and Mario Sznajder, there is additional evidence that Jews were subjugated to more excruciating treatment once taken captive by military forces. The article describes how Jews were sentenced to “special treatment”, something that other victims who were mentioned earlier also verify. The article also states that during these “special” torturing sessions, the Argentine officers would sing Nazi songs in order to aggravate the Jewish prisoners. Also, something that I found most striking in this account is that Jewish prisoners were viewed by their Argentine capturers as “la encarnación del mal.” [44] The torture was a dehumanizing experience for the Jews under arrest. This is interesting because it shows that the officers would purposely treat Jews differently since they were believed to have innate evil characteristics, something that an “authentic” Christian Argentinean would not possess. This was there method for attempting to dehumanize Jewish prisoners.
Maris Braylan, Daniel Feierstein, Miguel Galante, and Adrian Jmelnizky in 1998 commenced a project whose goal was document the situation of Jewish detainees, including those who disappeared. This article “Informe sobre la situacion de los detenidos-desaparecidos judios durante el geocidio perpetrado en Argentina,” contains further information about the explicit “special” treatment Jews received. Apart from the never-ending humiliation and torture, people like Eduardo Saiegh who was taken away on October 1980, remembers being placed an isolated room, and having his legs chained and being told that “[U]sted ya no se llama más como se llama, ojo, nunca pronuncie su nombre. Se llama Z-65.” [45] This was something that very much paralleled Nazi techniques in concentration camps. José Siderman, who was kidnapped on March 1976, is another victim who is mentioned in this article and provides further credence to the horrors that he and other Jews experienced while under detainment. He states that“durante las torturas , era llamado contantemente ‘judio bstardo’ y ‘judio de meirda’ y que me iban a matar porque era judio.” [46] Years later in 1996, Siderman was triumphant in wining a legal battle against Argentina in which the country was forced to pay him six million U.S. dollars due to the suffering he survived.
Other examples in this in-depth project which portray Jews being mistreated are the first hand account of Pedro Miguel Vanrall, and the confession of a former Argentine officer. When Pedro Miguel Vanrell reflects upon his horrid memories about being detained, he goes into detail about a particular cruel practice. His guards used to paint swastikas on their bodies using aerosol, then send them to the showers at which time the guards would have the opportunity to hit and harass them with ease. [47] However, the most graphic description presented is that by Daniel Edurado Fernandez, a soldier who used to partake in torturing of Jews. He affirms the notion that Jews went through extreme physical abuse by stating, “contra los judios se aplicaba todo tipo de torturas pero en especial una sumamente sádica y cruel: el ‘rectoscopio’, que consistia en un tubo que se introducia en el ano de las victimas, o en la vágina de las mujeres, y dentro del tubo se largaba una rata.” [48] After the analyzing the torturing methods that Fernandez describes, and reading numerous testimonies, there is no doubt that Jews were targeted because of their suspected Leftist involvement, (which in some cases was true, but not always) and blatant anti-Semitism that thrived throughout the Argentina military, government, and society.
Conclusion:
It is very surprising that the two military governments of Chile and Argentina, which were both supported by the U.S. government, stringently anti-communist, and merciless in hunting down their opponents, would treat the Jewish people and communities in such contrasting manners. One would think that such similar governments in structure would have comparable opinions about the Jews, yet they did not. Pinochet, who did not tolerate Leftists, had no problem in placing secular or religious Jews in high governmental jobs, despite Jewish reputation for having Liberal ideologies. It would have been rather easy for Pinochet to accuse all Chilean Jews of sympathizing with communism since the leader of the Chilean Communist Party was in fact a Jew. Nonetheless he did not, since the Jews did not threaten to his power. He was even able to gain support among most Jews since the majority belonged to the privileged middle-upper class, who felt their lives at risk under the Allende government. However, even those Jews who were not in favor of Pinochet did not feel their lives worsen because they were Jews, but rather for political beliefs.
The Jews of Argentina, on the other hand were not granted the freedom of being accepted as Argentinean citizens because of their religious background. All Jews were suspected of working with Leftists to try and take over the government. While under Argentine investigation, Jews were given a “special” treatment, which included being humiliated by forcing them to pay homage to portraits of Hitler. Also, according to survivors like Jacobo Timmerman, Jewish women received far worse sexual abuse than did Christian women. The Jewish communities as an entity were forced to stand on guard and be cautious of the military.
The military in Argentina forced the Jews to live in daily fear due to their religion. Their alleged political beliefs were not the only causes for arrests, but their ethnicity also instigated the military to harass and bully the Jews to such extremity, as the testimonies make clear. They were an insignificant portion of the population, yet seemed to be over represented among those who were questioned and given brutal treatment. Anti-Semitism had long been a part of Argentine governments, and the ruling powers of 1976-83 did not and see any reason to alter past policies on the Jews. In Chile, Pinochet made a strong push to renounce any anti-Semitism that may have existed within government ministers. He made an effort to demonstrate his support for Jewish communities by visiting them on the High Holidays. He even demonstrated his good will to the Jewish people by being very supportive and admiring of the State of Israel. One can observe that although the political regimes of Chile and Argentina may have been similar in structure, their two very contrasting manners in regarding the Jewish minority is something that is bewildering and astonishing.
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[1]Luis Fleischman. “Pinochet-good for the Jews, tragedy for human rights.” New Jersey Jewish News (1998): www.jewishworld.com/0798/pinochet1.asp. September 16, 2005.
[26] Simón Caro. “Fue antisemita la dicadura de Pinochet.” Unknown Source. (January 22, 1999): http://puntofinal.cl/990122/intertxt.html October 12,2005
[46] Israel. Informe sobre la situacion de los detenidos-desaparecidos judios durante el geocidio perpetrado en Argentina. In translation this means “during the torturing, I was called constantly ‘Jewish bastard’ and “piece of shit Jew’, and they would tell me I was going to die because I am Jewish.”
[48] Israel. Informe sobre la situacion de los detenidos-desaparecidos judios durante el geocidio perpetrado en Argentina. The translation is “ towards the Jews we applied all types of tortures but especially sadistic and cruel: the recto scope, which would consist of a tube would be placed inside the anus of the victims, or in the vagina of the women, and inside the tube a rat would be put inside.”
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