MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine judge rules against Royal Spanish Academy's construction of “Jew”

Lijo is no other than President Javier Milei's pick for a vacancy on the Supreme Court

Buenos Aires Federal Judge Ariel Lijo Thursday ordered the Madrid-based Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) to strike from its dictionary the fifth meaning of the word “judío/a” (Jewish) which applies to any person “greedy or usurious,” even though it is noted that its use is “offensive or discriminatory.” The magistrate, who is no other than President Javier Milei's choice to fill the already existing vacancy on the Supreme Court (CSJN), argued that such a construction constituted “hate speech that incites discrimination on religious grounds.”

“In light of the broad protection enjoyed by the right to freedom of religion and the factual considerations formulated herein, I will order the Royal Spanish Academy to immediately suppress -that is, without the prior intervention of the Academies of the Spanish Language- the fifth meaning of the word ”judío, a“ for constituting a hate speech that incites discrimination on religious grounds. To this effect, I will send an exhortation to the Kingdom of Spain under the terms of articles 28.1 and 30 of the Treaty of Extradition and Judicial Assistance in Criminal Matters signed with that nation,” Lijo wrote.

“It should not be forgotten that the requirements articulated through international cooperation mechanisms are characterized by a slowness that is not compatible with the present case. Nor should it be forgotten that the numerous claims formulated before the authorities of the Royal Spanish Academy were not answered, or received an unacceptable response from a human rights point of view,” he added when deciding in the case filed on Aug. 28 by Claudio Gregorio Epelman on behalf of the World Jewish Congress Foundation and Jorge Knoblovits who acted as President of the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA).

“I also consider that it is not hate speech with abstract effects, but that it produces concrete effects on an indefinite but important number of people. For the formulation of the speech in question is not reserved to an intimate forum or, if public, of restricted access; on the contrary, it is incorporated in the Dictionary of the Spanish Language. In this sense, the broad scope of this compendium cannot be overlooked,” the judge went on.

The plaintiffs filed a criminal complaint against RAE Chairman Santiago Muñoz Machado as well as against any other person who is a member of that organization for inciting hatred against the Jewish community through the discriminatory meaning of the term “judío, a,” in violation of Argentine Law 23.592 which provides for prison terms ranging from one month to three years for anyone spreading theories of superiority of a race or a group of people of a certain religion, ethnic origin or color to promote racial or religious discrimination in any form.

The petitioners also argued that the RAE interpretation constituted hate speech as defined by the United Nations: “Any form of communication by word, in writing or through behavior, which is an attack or uses derogatory or discriminatory language in relation to a person or group based on who they are or, on account of their religion, ethnic origin, nationality, race, color, descent, gender or other identity factor.”

The RAE has not taken any action until duly notified of Lijo's ruling. In the meantime, the magistrate ordered Argentina's National Communications Agency (Enacom) to block access to the definition on the RAE's website.

“For years the Jewish communities have been trying to dialogue with the RAE to modify the anti-Semitic content of its definition, but the only response we got only worsened the situation. Faced with this situation, we were forced to resort to the courts,” Epelman argued.