(JTA) — The wife of a prominent Honduran presidential candidate wrote a letter to Latin America’s umbrella Jewish organization to apologize for praising Hitler.
Iroshka Elvir, 25, who was named Miss Honduras in 2015, said “Hitler was a great leader” during an interview with El Heraldo newspaper published on April 26. She is the wife of Salvador Nasralla, 64, a sports journalist and broadcaster along with being a businessman and politician.
“When I talked about Hitler I talked about his leadership because, to my understanding, he did not do anything good,” Elvir wrote in a letter addressed to the Latin American Jewish Congress after the organization, along with the Honduran Jewish community, slammed her remarks.
“The newspaper published that I admire Hitler, but it is not true, I never told them that I admired Hitler,” she said. “I am a great admirer of Israel, I love and bless that great nation. Receive my letter and my apologies since at no time did I want to offend any Jew.”
Elvin attached a photo in which she is portrayed holding an Israeli flag and closed the message with “Shalom.”
In December, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez in Jerusalem to seal a broad partnership in the defense and security fields.
Honduras is home to approximately 200 Jews in a population of 8.5 million.
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