Sandinistas and Anti-Semitism
The most serious omission in your article is that each and every one of the charges raised by the Nicaraguan Jewish exiles against the Sandinista government has been refuted by prominent Jewish leaders such as Rabbi Marshall Meyer who said that “the charge of anti-Semitism in Nicaragua is a flag raised in the name of those who are mostly ex-Somocistas dedicated to the destruction of the popular government elected by the people of Nicaragua. This is an act to be condemned.”
Rabbi Meyer and 11 other national Jewish leaders went to Nicaraagua last summer under the auspices of New Jewish Agenda, where they met with Sandinistas officials, Nicaraguan Jews and anti-government leaders. They also met with the Gorn family in Miami at length. The delegation report states unequivocally: “Charges of Nicaraguan government anti-Semitism cannot be supported; there simply is no body of credible evidence to suggest that the Sandinista government has pursued or is currently pursuing a policy of discrimination or coercion against Jews, or that Jewish people are not welcome to live and work in Nicaragua.”
RICHARD SILVERSTEIN
Los Angeles
Silverstein is Western director of New Jewish Agenda.
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