TEL-AVIV, April 4—It is now well known that the fascist junta who took over Argentina between 1976 and 1982 has committed crimes against humanity, including kidnapping and torturing working-class activists and murdering at least 30,000 in the name of US imperialism. It is also well-known that the Argentine regime of the day was viciously anti-Semitic and specifically singled out Jewish activists for torture and murder—3,000 of those murdered were Jewish, ten times greater than their proportion in the general Argentine population at that time.
But who was a staunch ally of U.S.-backed Nazi Argentina? None other than the Zionist state of Israel. There is clear evidence that many of the junta’s crimes were committed using Israeli weapons, and that the Israeli regime maintained friendly relations with the fascist generals who ruled Argentina. But when Jewish Argentinians wanted to flee persecution and potential murder to Israel, the Israeli embassy turned them down as they were “too leftist” for it—proof of the myth that Zionist politicians care about Jewish workers. This is the true nature of Zionist Israel: a state that serves Israeli capitalism and U.S. imperialism, not Jewish workers. Israeli capitalists and their lackey politicians will do whatever necessary to maintain power and profits. In 1950, as Zionists were spreading anti-Arab racism and ethnically cleansing thousands of Palestinians, they were also terrorizing Iraqi Jews by spreading anti-Semitism and planting bombs in an effort to increase Jewish immigration to Israel.
Today, Israel is harboring a war criminal wanted by the Argentinian government and the Interpol for crimes against humanity: Teodoro Anibal Gauto. He is wanted for $500,000. He was a torturer and murderer at the “La Cacha,” death camp in Argentina. Many of his fellow soldiers were sentenced last October to long prison sentences—15 of them for life imprisonment—for crimes committed there. But Gauto used the fact that his wife was Jewish to flee to Israel in 2003 and live under an assumed identity. Israeli authorities have known of his true identity for at least a year, but steadfastly refuse to expel him to Argentina.
In Line with Imperialist Backer
Why have Israel–Argentina relations soured in recent years? Though the Israeli bosses refuse to disclose the reason for their refusal to send him back, a red eye on the news can find clues. These diplomatic squabbles over extradition mask the truth: imperialist competition between Israel’s backer, the U.S., and Argentina’s ally, China. China has dramatically increased investment in and trade with Latin America in recent years (see editorial, page 2). Moreover, Argentina renewed relations with Iran in 2013, one of China’s large sources of energy and a major enemy of the U.S. and Israel. These moves all threaten U.S.’s position as the main world imperial power and Israel’s regional dominance.
The Argentinian community in Israel is now demanding Gauto’s extradition and exposing Israel’s complicity in the junta’s war crimes. The state claiming to stand for the right of “all Jews” is an accomplice to anti-Semitic pogroms and neo-Nazi murder of workers.
As members of Progressive Labor Party, it is our job to show workers both in Israel and around the world that no capitalist country is true to its claim of supporting Jewish, Arab, Argentine, Chinese, Iranian, U.S., or any other kind of worker. The bottom line is maintaining profits through any means necessary. We cannot protect ourselves by just prosecuting war criminals or supporting nationalist politics. We must smash all borders and create a communist world.