Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Rabbi in Argentina assaulted by anti-Semitic gang

Rabbi Elyahu Shaman was wounded in the face and hand. Witnesses to the assault apparently stood by and laughed.

Argentine Chief Rabbi Gabriel Davidovich (left) joins Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, at a ceremony at the site of the 1992 attack at the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sept. 11, 2017. Photo by Avi Ohayon/GPO.
Argentine Chief Rabbi Gabriel Davidovich (left) joins Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, at a ceremony at the site of the 1992 attack at the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sept. 11, 2017. Photo by Avi Ohayon/GPO.

An Argentinian rabbi returning from prayer services on Saturday evening was physically attacked by a group of individuals yelling racial slurs against Jews, according to a report in The Jerusalem Post.

Rabbi Elyahu Shaman, who serves as a cantor at a Buenos Aires synagogue, was wounded in the face and hand. Witnesses to the assault stood by and laughed, according to a statement given to the Post.

The incident comes a month after two Jewish worshippers were attacked outside the Mikdash Yosef Jewish center in Buenos Aires.

In February, Argentinian Chief Rabbi Gabriel Davidovich was brutally beaten in his home, suffering nine broken ribs and a punctured lung. Jewelry, a ceremonial pen from Jerusalem, a hat and approximately $4,750 in cash were stolen from his home.

Davidovich alleged that the attackers told him during the incident that they knew he was the rabbi of the AMIA (Argentine Israelite Mutual Association) Jewish Center.

In 1994, the AMIA building was targeted in what remains Argentina’s most deadly terrorist attack, that killed 85 people. No one was ever convicted, though Iran is suspected to have funded the attack.

In 1992, an Islamic Jihad suicide-bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires killed 30 people.

Anthony Albanese downplayed the hecklers’ reception, saying the overall atmosphere was “incredibly positive.”
Two divisions continue to dismantle the Iranian-backed group’s infrastructure in Southern Lebanon, as another division prepares to join the fight.
Meanwhile, Washington has issued a short-term authorization permitting the sale of Iranian oil currently stranded at sea.
“This is a war crime, but it is not surprising because the Iranian regime is a terrorist regime,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said at the scene.
The U.S. military has thus far struck over 8,000 targets across the Islamic Republic, including 130 enemy vessels, according to CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper.
Cairo has taken on the role of mediator, but local media is clearly leaning toward Tehran.