JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

AJC denounces Spanish newspaper’s slur

By Eric Fingerhut · December 1, 2009

The American Jewish Committee is condemning an article in one of Spain's leading newspapers, El Mundo, alleging that the Honduran economy is controlled by five Jewish families. Here's their statement:

AJC denounced today’s El Mundo news article asserting the alleged “control by five Jewish families” of the Honduras economy. The article in one of Spain’s leading daily newspapers claims that these families represent “the oligarchy” in one of the poorest nations of the Americas.

“El Mundo owes an apology to its readers for publishing such hateful garbage,” said Dina Siegel Vann, director of AJC’s Latino and Latin American Institute.

“El Mundo should be ashamed of promoting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and fanning the flames of hatred while the different factions in Honduras are seeking a negotiated solution to resolve the current political crisis,” said Siegel Vann.

“Unfortunately, this is not the first time El Mundo has indulged in open anti-Semitism,” said Siegel Vann. In September, the newspaper published an interview with renowned Holocaust denier David Irving, which was promptly denounced by AJC.