The Anti-Defamation League has accused a Puerto Rican activist named Robert Brito of penning articles that blame “Jewish economic interests” for trying to impose a monkey-breeding facility on the island, which Brito opposes. Brito alleged that an “Israeli company” is behind the facility (the company in question is listed as being based in Mauritius) for purposes of “ethnic discrimination” and “genocide.” He furthermore called for a boycott of Jewish-owned businesses and synagogues in the U.S. island commonwealth. One of the best articles on the controversy actually appears in Puerto Rico’s English-language Daily Sun—one of the papers in which Brito’s original article appeared. “We call upon the authorities and different sectors of the society to repudiate these false and anti-Semitic accusations,” a spokesperson for the Jewish Community of Puerto Rico told the Daily Sun. “It is of the utmost importance to understand that, independent of the side of the debate one takes, it is totally inexcusable to use the Jewish community or any of its members as a scapegoat.”
ADL: Anti-Semitism Injected into Puerto Rico Dispute [Ynet]
Jewish Community Blasts Anti-Semitic Statements in Bioculture Controversy [Daily Sun]
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.