BUENOS AIRES, Feb 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Argentina’s chief rabbi was beaten and seriously injured by assailants who broke into his home, in an attack condemned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of an anti-Semitic wave.
Jorge Knoblovits, the president of the Argentine-Israelite Mutual Aid Association, said seven men were involved in the assault Monday in Buenos Aires on Gabriel Davidovich, who is 56.
Netanyahu said Davidovich and his wife were “viciously assaulted”.
“We must not let anti-Semitism rear its head. I strongly condemn the recent acts of anti-Semitism and call on the international community to take action against it,” Netanyahu said.
The attack comes against the background of increased anti-Semitism in western countries.
Argentina has one of the largest Jewish communities in the world, with around 300,000 people.
Argentina’s Jewish association, AMIA by its Spanish acronym, quoted the Davidovich’s assailants as saying, “We know you are the rabbi of AMIA.”
The rabbi and his wife put up no resistance, but the assailants threw Davidovich to the ground.
“They broke nine of his ribs, affecting a lung, and left him disfigured,” Knoblovits said.
They made away with money and personal effects, he said.
Argentine authorities have opened an investigation into the attack, which followed the desecration of nine tombs at a Jewish cemetery in the province of San Luis over the weekend. — NNN-AGENCIES
