MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“Jewish soldiers in Malvinas”, and acts of anti Semitism by some Argentine military officers

The book, “Jewish soldiers in Malvinas” was written by Hernan Dobry, which mentions the testimonies and experiences of 39 of 43 conscripts and petty officers of Jewish descent

A third of Argentine conscripts of Jewish origin who participated in the Falklands/Malvinas conflict suffered different forms of anti-Semitism, including torture, abuses, and psychological threats, and 10% of them were staked to the ground.

This according to the book, “Jewish soldiers in Malvinas” written by Hernan Dobry, which mentions the testimonies and experiences of 39 of 43 conscripts and petty officers of Jewish descent, and of which Clarin advanced some excerpts.

“I had to endure parallel wars, one against the anti Semitic Argentine military and the other, against the English”, points out Sigrid Kogan from the Patricios Regiment, under the orders of Lieutenant Ricardo Ferrer. It was this very officer who beat Sigrid's face until disfigured, when he found out that together with another conscript, Alberto Morales, they escaped their duty position in search for food in Stanley, since they had had no meals for several days.

The exemplary punishment went only for the Jew since Morales was only slapped lightly twice on the face by the officer.

Ferrer asked another conscript to bring him leather gloves since he was going “to hold a boxing session,” which he did in front of all the company to show conscripts how he treated those of Jewish ascent.

“His intention was not to show the conscripts what would happen to them if they did not behave, but rather he wanted to show how he was determined to treat Jews,” and then he started to beat the young soldier. “He beat me repeatedly in the face because of my religion, I fell several times, I stood up, fearing the officer would kick me on the floor, despite my bloody face...but he insisted in beating me, my face, my nose,” Kogan testified in the book.

And Jose Dario Ertel, his tent mate also suffered anti Semitic abuse from officer Ferrer, “he staked him on to the ground for several motives, but above all for being a Jew”.

Ferrer had Dario's ankles and wrists tied, without his winter jacket on and screamed, “fuck... Jews. They are going to rescue you and take you to Uruguay, it's all programmed to save you and your people, but not as long as I am in charge... and he kept him tied to the ground for fourteen hours....”

“I couldn't move, I felt I was going to die and asked God to save me as I saw the English planes bombing close by, all because I am a Jew... after the war I was able to recover,” Ertel admitted.

A similar situation was testified by a conscript David Gluzman from the 7th Infantry Regiment, whose unit was sent o Mount Longdon. A new officer appeared and since some fellow soldiers had drawn a cross in David's helm, and a David star in the butt of the rifle, the officer went mad and started with anti Semitic abuses and had David staked to the ground, hands and ankles, no boots, just a light blanket to cover him at night, “while a good friend disobeying orders would give me water, but no food. There was no food for the company, finally another conscript untied me”. In previous weeks Edgardo Gueler suffered a similar situation, from an officer whom he refused to name, who abused him by forcing him to make extenuating exercises, to drag among the mud and peat for over 200 meters, and finally had him staked for a whole night.

“I was completely overwhelmed, feeling raped and abused and victim of a degradation situation never suffered before, it was war and I felt completely abandoned. A drunken petty officer appeared and pissed on me as if nothing. I cried, I felt cold, abandoned, stripped of all dignity, scared but also furious”.

Human rights abuses and crimes against humanity committed by many Argentine military offices during the Falklands conflict remain in the limbo of a Judiciary system so far undecided on how to address the issue, whether crimes committed have prescribed or not, if they are in effect considered crimes against humanity.

However the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo have formally requested the Argentine Supreme Court to address the issue under the legal figure of “amicus curiae” in support of the many human rights abuses demands in different courts.

“We presented a request to the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation asking the convening of public audiences in the cases investigating the tortures suffered by the soldiers that fought in the Malvinas war”, was the release from the Grandmothers Organization made public in Argentina.