Argentina Ex-Dictator Jorge Rafael Videla Dies in Prison — Blamed for Killing Jews
Birds of Feather: Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla greets fellow South American strongman Augusto Pinochet.
Former Argentinian dictator Jorge Rafael Videla, who is believed to be responsible for the disappearance of thousands of the country’s Jews, died in prison.
Videla was serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity when he died on Friday at 87.
He had ruled the country from 1976 to 1981, gaining power with a coup toppling President Maria Estela Martinez de Peron, the widow of leader Juan Peron.
At least 1,900 Jews were among the 30,000 people who “disappeared” or were arrested, imprisoned, tortured and murdered during the military junta’s reign.
It was a disproportionate number considering Jews comprised 1 percent of the Argentinian population but made up 5 percent of the disappeared. The many Jews involved in human rights and social struggles groups were targeted for persecution.
In December 2004, AMIA Jewish center President Abraham Kaul created an annual tribute to the “disappeared Jews.” Each year on Dec. 7, now known as Jewish Disappearance Day, the Argentinean Jewish community holds a commemoration at the AMIA headquarters with human rights associations, politicians and government officials.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
