THE DETROIT JEWISH.NEWS Argentina 'Much Better' But Jews Still Wary By STAN ROSE (Copyright 1981, JTA, Inc.) (Editor's note: The fol- lowing is a composite of interviews with three prominent Jewish resi- dents of Buenos Aires conducted in late January and February in the Argentine capital. At the request of these Jewish residents their real names have been withheld. The name avid Iseman, is fictiti- us, but the views ex- ressed herein and the setting for the interviews are factual. Stan Rose is the publisher of the Kan- sas City Jewish Chronicle.) A few minutes after 4 p.m., the phone rang in our room at the Plaza Hotel in Buenos Aires, and a voice of the other end of the tine said, "Mr. Rose? This is David Iseman. I am in the lobby of your hotel." "Yes, Mr. Iseman," I said. "Shall we come down and meet you?" "No. I'd prefer to talk in your room. I'll be up in a moment." • Soon there was a knock at the door and Shirley greeted our caller, a slightly built, distinguished looking man who appeared to be in his late 60's. "So what can I tell you about the Jews in Buenos Aires?" Iseman seemed to ask the question with reluc- tance. "The first thing you can tell me about the Jews in Buenos Aires is where they are," I said lightly. "I came here with this long list of names furnished me by Jacob Kovadloff of the American Jewish Committee office in New York." (Iseman quickly scanned the list and seemed satisfied that it was authentic.) I went on, "I kept calling telephone numbers — home num- bers, office numbers — until my fingers were stiff. Either nobody an- swered at all or someone who spoke and under- Anti-Semitism Felt in Atlanta INDIANAPOLIS — The rash of anti-Semitic inci- dents in Atlanta has mir- rored the increase in other parts of the country. A re- cent article in the Jewish Post and Opinion described two such incidents: "The congregants of At- lanta's newest synagogue, Beth Shalom, were having services in their still un- finished building" . . . Sud- denly, with horror. the members looked out of the window and saw . . . a crudely made cross that was burning on the lawn near the sanctuary window. "`A day or so after the cross burning, the bus that transports Atlanta's senior citizens to the "Meals on Wheels" program at the local Jewish Community Center was vandalized and all the windows were knocked out." stood only Spanish could answer and eventually hung up on me. Finally, in desperation, I had to ask the hotel operator to help me. When at last she made a connection, she was so excited she called back and said, "Mr. Rose, I'ye finally got somebody for you to talk to, thank God!" "You must know," Ise- man said, "that almost any Jew who is important enough to make this AJC list isn't going to be hanging around Buenos Aires this time of year — in the heat of summer. Either he is in Rib or Israel or at his summer home in Punta del Esta." "Punta del Esta?" That's in Uruguay. I though the Nazis were making things hot for the Jews in Uruguay these days." Iseman shrugged. "The, situation in Uruguay has been exaggerated by the press. There is a small minority of anti-Semites, but there is no neo-Nazi movement there. Nobody is really bothering us." "Tell me," I asked, "Who's minding the store while everybody is away?" . "Don't worry, with almost 300,000 Jews in Buenos Aires there are plenty who aren't wealthy enough or important enough to take off a month or two in the summer. I'm here, as you can see. I'm not wealthy, just important." Iseman suddenly grew serious again. "So go ahead and ask," he said. "Never mind. I'll answer your ques- tion. You don't have to ask. You want to know how things are going with the Jews in Argentina? I'll • tell you. Better. Much better. Two years — three years — ago things were bad. There was much cause for alarm. The government was very oppressive. I was afraid — of the radicals and terrorists. "And the secret police, the national police, were very active. If someone was ar- rested on suspicion of being a trouble maker and if he happened to be a Jew, it went harder with him. He was beaten worse, or maybe he would disappear. You know about the disappear- ances? I thought so. Well, the government is more con- fident now. It's less oppres- sive because it feels it has things under control, so it is consolidating. We are all hoping more democracy will come out of this." "Excuse me," I inter- rupted skeptically. "If things are so much better for the Jews, why were you afraid to talk to me on the telephone? You and the others. Why couldn't we meet in a , public place instead of this room?" "A fair question," Iseman responded. "You never can tell when things might change. And you never know who may be listening. Why take chances? We do have a military dictatorship and — who knows? — maybe your hotel operator — what's her name? Alice — even she might be an in- former. But you didn't see me shaking in my shoes be- cause you gave her my number to call. But let me emphasize this. No Jew has ever been killed by the Argentine government just because he was a Jew!" Again I was skeptical. "You mean you have no anti-Semitism here?" Iseman shook his head impatiently. "I didn't say that. We've always lived with anti-Semitism, but not the kind Jews suffered under the Nazis. Long be- fore Hitler, we got the mes- sage. Jews don't get into the mainstream of society. They don't try to run the govern- ment. They stay with their own. Of course, we hold im- portant positions in the pro- fessions and in finance — and some of us even are fi- nancial advisers to the gov- ernment. But we learned long ago that as Jews, we always keep our place — outside the inner circle!" "Argentina is the only country on the five conti- nents we've visited where I've heard a good word for Jimmy Carter's Human Rights policy. The Israelis certainly didn't think much of it." "I know," Iseman re- plied. "I'm in close touch with Israel. Now, as for your new President," he went on as if anticipating my next question, "I have the perception that more than anything else, Re- agan is a good politician. He keeps upsetting the people on the right. His sending Carter to meet the hostages was a beau- tiful example of humility and political shrewdness. We're not worried about his philosophy on human rights hurting us. Rela- tions .between Argentina and the United States are bound to improve under his administration and that could benefit the Jews if Argentina's economy is helped by the better relationship." "And if Argentina col- lapses?" "Then we Jews can thank God we stayed in our desig- nated place and -officially had nothing to do with the government. At least, we can't be blamed for this dis- aster. I hope not anyway." Friday, May 1, 1981 21 the Linen Loft Left.... But Only For Awhile! Were moving from Franklin Road to Maple Road. Our new large; quarters and even grander select Lion will be open soon. the Linen w. Maple Rd. Loft just east of Telegraph...soon! Join JNF' "Journey Through History 1.1 On, the Occasion of Our 80th Anniversary June 25 thru July 12, 1981 Walk in the footsteps of the visionaries who founded the JNF to acquire and redeem the land for a Jewish State Relive &eat moments of history in the saga of our people ONE WEEK IN EUROPE • ONE WEEK IN ISRAEL HIGHLIGHTS London — site of important 1920 conference Galilee — where the first tracts of land were Basle — where the JNF was born acquired and the valleys were con- Amsterdam/The Hague — site of historic quered Jewish and Jerusalem — where the JNF played a major JNF events role in the upbuilding of the city Notables in each European city, leading dignitaries in Israel will participate in several gala events Deluxe accommodations throughout; Receptions and Banquets write to: "Journey Through History" — Jewish National Fund 42 East 69 Street, New York, N.Y. 10021 (212) 879-9300 Or call JNF office 557-6644 • If 4. . 1 4. 4- 4