Jewish leaders fear anti-Semitism among Hispanic immigrants

Published: 2004-07-01

ROME (CNS) -- U.S. Jewish leaders met with Vatican officials in late June to raise what they consider a growing problem: anti-Semitism among Hispanic immigrants to the United States. According to surveys, new Hispanic arrivals in the United States are "44 percent infected" with anti-Semitic attitudes, reflecting lower sensitivity to the problem throughout their Latin American countries of origin, said Abraham Foxman, national director of the U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League. The rate of anti-Semitism among the immigrants is more than twice that of U.S.-born Hispanics, Foxman said. A high percentage of the immigrants believe the Jews were responsible for Christ's death, he said. "For us, this is very important, because the Hispanic community is growing in the United States. And at the end of the day that will also have an impact on the Catholic Church," Foxman said. Foxman and other ADL leaders spoke with reporters after meeting with three Vatican officials: Msgr. Norbert Hoffman, secretary of the Commission for Religious Relations With the Jews; Swiss Cardinal Georges Cottier, the papal theologian; and Msgr. Pietro Parolin, a foreign policy expert in the Secretariat of State.

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