BUENOS AIRES (JTA) — A federal judge in Argentina charged four people under an anti-discrimination law for a January attack on Israeli tourists.
Guido Otranto accused four people on March 17 in connection with the attack that he said was motivated by “hatred against a religion and against one nationality.” Otranto fined each of the four approximately $5,700 and required they report to the court monthly until their trial. The judge also imposed restraining orders to protect the hostel where the Israelis were staying when they were attacked.
Ten Israeli tourists were harmed in the Jan. 19 attack in Lago Puelo, in the tourist region of Patagonia. The tourists were robbed and beaten in the attack and were the target of anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli slurs.
“You come here to steal our Patagonia”, the attackers reportedly shouted. “Go, f***ing Jews, f*** Israelis.”
The hostel where the tourists were staying, owned by an Israeli who has lived in Argentina since 2003, shut down for a week after the attack.
“It’s very important that our law protect minorities, Israelis or another,” the owner, Yoav Pollac, told JTA. “It’s very important that the judiciary acted proper and quickly.”
Last month, anti-Israel posters appeared in the Argentine tourist town of Bariloche, located in the foothills of the Andes, which is popular with Israeli backpackers. The posters, which read “Boycott Against Israeli Military Tourism,” were signed by the Palestine Solidarity Committee in Argentine Patagonia.
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