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Jacobo Timerman (6 January 1923 – 11 November 1999), was a
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
-born
Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...
publisher, journalist, and author, who is most noted for his confronting and reporting the atrocities of the Argentine military regime's
Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 a ...
during a period of widespread repression in which an estimated 30,000 political prisoners were
disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organi ...
. He was persecuted, tortured and imprisoned by the Argentine junta in the late 1970s and was exiled in 1979 with his wife to
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. He was widely honored for his work as a journalist and publisher. In Israel, Timerman wrote and published his most well-known book, ''Prisoner Without A Name, Cell Without a Number'' (1981), a memoir of his prison experience that added to his international reputation. A longtime Zionist, he also published ''The Longest War'', a strongly critical book about Israel's
1982 Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, dubbed Operation Peace for Galilee ( he, מבצע שלום הגליל, or מבצע של"ג ''Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil'' or ''Mivtsa Sheleg'') by the Israeli government, later known in Israel as the Lebanon War or the First L ...
. Timerman returned to Argentina in 1984, and testified to the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons. He continued to write, publishing books in 1987 about Chile under the
Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...
regime and in 1990 about Cuba under
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 20 ...
.


Early life

Timerman was born in
Bar, Ukraine Bar ( uk, Бар; pl, Bar; russian: Бар) is a town located on the Riv River in the Vinnytsia Oblast ( province) of central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Bar Raion (district), and is part of the historic region of Podolia. ...
, to Jewish parents Eve Berman and Nathan Timerman. To escape the
persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these ter ...
of Jews and
pogroms A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...
there, the family emigrated to Argentina in 1928, when he was five years old and his brother Joseph was seven. The family lived in the Jewish area of
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, restricted by their poverty to occupying a single room. Richard H. Curtiss,
In Memoriam: Jacobo Timerman, 1923–1999
, ''Washington Report on Middle East Affairs'' XIX (1), February 2000, p. 59.
Molly Ivins,
One of the great heroes is gone
", ''Creators Syndicate'', 14 November 1999.
Timerman took a job at age 12 after the death of his father. While young, Timerman lost an eye due to infection. Timerman became a
Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
as a young man. He met his future wife, Risha Mindlin,Obituary: "Jacobo Timerman"
''The Independent''
at a Zionist conference in Mendoza. (Her surname has also been reported as Midlin.) They married on 20 May 1950 in a simple ceremony at the Mindlin house.


Career


Journalist and publisher

Timerman gained work as a journalist and rose in his profession, reporting for various publications including the ''
Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, ...
,'' ''Mail,'' ''What,'' ''News Charts,'' ''New Zion,'' and ''Commentary.'' He became fluent in English as well as Spanish. He gained experience and reported on Argentine and South American politics. In 1962, Timerman founded ''
Primera Plana ''Primera Plana'' was a weekly glossy political, cultural and current affairs magazine published in Buenos Aires, Argentina, between 1962 and 1973. The magazine was very influential in shaping the journalism tradition in the country. History and ...
'', an Argentine news-weekly often compared to the American publication, ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' magazine.Knudson, "Veil of Silence" (1997), p. 98. In 1964 Timerman resigned as editor of ''Primera Plana,'' amid rumors of official threats due to his "line of opposition to the government". The magazine announced Timerman's resignation the week after it had reported on government threats to sanction uncooperative publications. In 1965, he founded another news weekly titled '' Confirmado'' (''The Journal'')."Died Journalist Jacobo Timerman"
''El Dia'', 12 November 1999, accessed 4 June 2013
The Armed Forces seized power in 1966, overthrowing president Arturo Illia. General Juan Carlos Onganía was installed as president, initiating a repressive and unpopular regime. His administration was characterized by its violent repression of Argentina's universities and intellectuals, and for its policy of establishing strict and conservative Catholic morals. Onganía suspended publication of ''Primera Plana'' in 1969.David William Foster, Melissa Fitch Lockhart, Darrell B. Lockhart. ''Culture and Customs of Argentina''
Greenwood Publishing, 1998, pp. 63–65
The next year it resumed publication but never regained its previous status. From his exile in Spain, former president
Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army general and politician. After serving in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President of a military dictatorship, he was elected ...
bought Timerman's newspaper in 1970, planning to control it and part of the political discussion in the country. Timerman founded '' La Opinión'' in 1971, which many considered "the greatest of his career. With it, Timerman began to cover topics in more depth and journalists signed their articles, so their work could be identified. His model was the French newspaper, ''
Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
.'' On 27 July 1972, the 20th anniversary of Eva Perón's death, terrorists set off 20 bombs in Argentina, most located in banks. But Timerman was one of numerous people targeted in the 20 attempted bombings. Perón returned to Argentina from Spain in 1973 after his candidate
Héctor Cámpora Hector () is an English, French, Scottish, and Spanish given name. The name is derived from the name of Hektor, a legendary Trojan champion who was killed by the Greek Achilles. The name ''Hektor'' is probably derived from the Greek ''ékhein'', ...
of the
Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party ( es, Partido Justicialista, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Current president Alberto Fernández belongs to the Justicialist Party (and has, since 2021, serve ...
was elected as president. Perón was widely understood to be the real power in the country, and the next year was elected as president after Campora stepped aside for him. His third wife, Isabel Perón, was elected as his vice-president. His death in 1974 raised uncertainty and political tensions.
Isabel Perón Isabel Martínez de Perón (, born María Estela Martínez Cartas, 4 February 1931), also known as Isabelita, is an Argentine politician who served as President of Argentina from 1974 to 1976. She was one of the first female republican heads ...
succeeded him, becoming the first woman president in the Western Hemisphere. During the political unrest that year, Timerman received bomb threats by the
Argentine Anti-Communist Alliance The Argentine Anticommunist Alliance ( es, Alianza Anticomunista Argentina, links=no, usually known as Triple A or AAA) was an Argentine Peronist political action group operated by a sector of the Federal Police and the Argentine Armed Forces, l ...
(also called the Triple A).


''La Opinión''

From 1971 to 1977, Timerman edited and published the left-leaning daily '' La Opinión''. Under his leadership, this paper reported news and criticisms of the human rights violations of the
Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...
government, into the early years of the
Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 a ...
. One wealthy backer of the paper was
David Graiver David Graiver (1941 — 1976) was an Argentine businessman and banker who was investigated in the 1970s for alleged money laundering of US$17 million for the Montoneros, a leftist guerrilla group. He was indicted for embezzlement after his rep ...
, a Jewish businessman said to have ties to the leftist guerrilla group known as
Montoneros Montoneros ( es, link=no, Movimiento Peronista Montonero-MPM) was an Argentine left-wing Peronist guerrilla organization, active throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. The name is an allusion to the 19th-century cavalry militias called Montone ...
, which was banned.Seth Lipsky, �
Kristol Clear How the neoconservative columnist’s x-ray vision will be missed
��, ''Tablet'', 21 September 2009.
Graiver had lent money to the paper in 1974. Because of Graiver's alleged ties to the Montoneros, Timerman was later criticized for his connections to the businessman. The publisher reported against both left-wing and right-wing terrorism. Some commentators have suggested that he supported a military coup to quell the violence.:Michael Taussig, ''Shamanism, Colonialism and the Wild Man - A Study in Terror and Healing''. University of Chicago Press, 1987; , p. 4. Timerman believed that his paper was the only one that dared to report accurately on current affairs without hiding the events behind euphemisms. Both
Isabel Perón Isabel Martínez de Perón (, born María Estela Martínez Cartas, 4 February 1931), also known as Isabelita, is an Argentine politician who served as President of Argentina from 1974 to 1976. She was one of the first female republican heads ...
and the military regime that overthrew her government suspended the paper for short periods prior to Timerman's arrest. Timerman later wrote in ''Prisoner Without a Name'' (1981), "During my journalistic career, particularly as publisher and editor of ''La Opinión'', I received countless threats". For example:
One morning two letters arrived in the same mail: one was from the rightist terrorist organization (protected and utilized by paramilitary groups) condemning me to death because of its belief that my militancy on behalf of the right to trial for anyone arrested and my battle for human rights were hindrances in overthrowing communism; the other letter was from the terrorist Trotskyite group, ''Ejercito Revolucionario Popular'' (ERP)—the Popular Revolutionary Army—and indicated that if I continued accusing leftist revolutionaries of being Fascists and referring to them as the lunatic Left, I would be tried and most likely sentenced to death.
Timerman maintained his outspoken support for Israel. In 1975, in response to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379, which condemned Zionism as racism (as well as condemning South Africa's
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
), he wrote "Why I Am A Zionist". (Originally passed largely by Non-aligned Nations following their conference that year, the resolution was revoked in 1991 by with UN General Assembly Resolution 46/86.)


1976 military coup

A coup in 1976 installed General Jorge Rafael Videla and began "'' el Proceso''"— military rule, including widespread persecution that came to be known as Argentina's "
Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 a ...
". Timerman like many others had initially supported a military takeover, on the grounds that it might curb the country's pervasive violence. Timerman continued to publish ''La Opinión'' for a year after the coup. He later speculated that moderates within the military had kept the paper alive because "the continued existence of ''La Opinión'' was a credit abroad; it backed the philosophy of future national reconstruction, it upheld the thesis of national unity, and was committed on a daily basis to curbing extremist excesses." The precise position of (and divisions within) the new government regarding Timerman and his paper, remains unknown. Anti-semitism increased during the 1970s as right-wing factions became more powerful. Jews were targeted in the media, including television stations operated by the government. A book called ''Plan Andinia'', published anonymously in 1977, warned of an international Zionist conspiracy to control part of Argentina. Anti-semitic bombings also increased, to a frequency of ten per month in 1976.Schoijet, "The Timerman Affair" (1983), p. 27. Police defused bombs placed outside of ''La Opinión'' headquarters during a wave of antisemitic violence in August of that year. An enormous bomb detonated in early 1977, at a screening of '' Victory at Entebbe'' (a pro-Israel film) in Córdoba, which damaged almost 80 businesses. At the beginning of April, the military began to arrest people connected to the Argentine banker
David Graiver David Graiver (1941 — 1976) was an Argentine businessman and banker who was investigated in the 1970s for alleged money laundering of US$17 million for the Montoneros, a leftist guerrilla group. He was indicted for embezzlement after his rep ...
, who had left the country in 1975 and was reported killed in a plane accident in Mexico in 1976. He had been under suspicion of financing the left-wing
Montoneros Montoneros ( es, link=no, Movimiento Peronista Montonero-MPM) was an Argentine left-wing Peronist guerrilla organization, active throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. The name is an allusion to the 19th-century cavalry militias called Montone ...
guerrillas through money laundering of millions of dollars derived from their kidnapping ransoms. Reports suggest that between 100 and 300 people were arrested under this charge.


Arrest

Before dawn on 15 April 1977, military police in civilian clothes appeared at Timerman's house and took him into custody. Enrique Jara, assistant editor of ''La Opinion'', was also arrested. The Army announced that Timerman and Jara were being held, with 13 others, "in relation to the investigation of the Graiver case". The same day, the US
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...
announced that it had become involved in the case, and was hunting for Graiver under suspicion that his death had been faked. The military promoted the story of a Graiver conspiracy in the national and international press. For instance, a 17 April column in ''
La Nación ''La Nación'' () is an Argentine daily newspaper. As the country's leading conservative newspaper, ''La Nación''s main competitor is the more liberal '' Clarín''. It is regarded as a newspaper of record for Argentina. Its motto is: "''La N ...
'' promised sweeping prosecution and punishment for all those involved. On 25 May 1977, the government appointed General José Teófilo Goyret as the ''interventor'' (military supervisor) of ''La Opinión''. Goyret later allowed the paper, worth $5,000,000, to quietly fold.


Prison and torture

Timerman later testified:Rein & Davidi, "Exile of the World" (2010), pp. 3–4.
After arresting me at my home in the federal capital, they took me to the police headquarters of Buenos Aires Province where I was interrogated by
Camps Camps may refer to: People *Ramón Camps (1927–1994), Argentine general *Gabriel Camps (1927–2002), French historian *Luís Espinal Camps (1932–1980), Spanish missionary to Bolivia * Victoria Camps (b. 1941), Spanish philosopher and professo ...
and Etchecolatz; from there they transferred me to Campo de Mayo, where they made me sign a statement. Then they left me at Puesto Vasco, where I was tortured, after which I was again turned over to the Central Department of the Federal Police, where after 25 days I was able to get in touch with my family. From there they took me to COT-I Martínez to be tortured again, then again to the Central Department of the Federal Police. Ultimately, I was legally interned at the Magdalena penitentiary.
Both Ramón Camps and Miguel Etchecolatz were later indicted and convicted for their involvement in widespread torture and "disappearances" during the Dirty War. The kidnapping and detention of Timerman were found to have been ordered by General
Guillermo Suárez Mason Carlos Guillermo Suárez Mason (January 2, 1924 – June 21, 2005) was an Argentine military officer convicted for Dirty War crimes during the 1976–1983 military dictatorship. He was in charge of the Batallón de Inteligencia 601. Biography ...
and his ''Batallón de Inteligencia'' 601. The three leaders were pardoned in 1991 by President
Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. He ...
. Timerman wrote later that he was arrested by "the extremist sector of the army", which "was also the heart of
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
operations in Argentina". He said his captors accused him of involvement in the "Andinia Plan" (the alleged
Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
conspiracy to control part of Argentina). Timerman believed that these jailers spared his life because they saw him as a potentially crucial source of information about the plan. The guards also interrogated Timerman about his relationship to the late banker David Graiver. Timerman was subjected to electric shock torture, beatings, and
solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...
.


Acquittal and house arrest

Timerman was acquitted by a military court in October 1977. The military continued to accuse him of "failure to observe basic moral principles in the exercise of public, political, or union offices". Rumors emerged on 30 March 1978 that the
junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by a ...
had decided to change Timerman's status. On 17 April 1978, he was officially released from prison but placed under permanent
house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if al ...
at his residence on Ayucucho Street. At one point, soon after Patt Derian (US Secretary for Human Rights) had prodded Videla about the case, Timerman was summoned to appear before the Minister of the Interior. He asked why he was being held. The minister said: "You admitted to being a
Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
, and this point was revealed at a meeting of all the generals." Timerman said: "But being a Zionist is not forbidden." The Minister replied: "No, it isn't forbidden, but on the other hand it isn't a clearcut issue. Besides, you admitted to it. And the generals are aware of this."


Reactions to his imprisonment

Timerman became the single most famous Argentine political prisoner of the Dirty War. His wife, Risha, helped to raise international awareness about his imprisonment. Within the Argentine press, only the '' Buenos Aires Herald'' (written in English) covered Timerman's arrest. ''Herald'' editor Robert Cox was later arrested and imprisoned.


Jewish Argentine establishment

Authorities among the Jewish community in Argentina were notably quiet about Timerman's arrest. While some leaders were friends of the publisher, their institutions, particularly ''el Delegación de Asociaciones Israelitas de Argentina'' (DAIA), stayed relatively quiet on the topic. According to Jacobo's brother, José:
The Jewish organizations took a passive approach, which amazed me, considering Jacobo’s systematic struggle against antisemitism and what happened during the Holocaust and so many other massacres suffered by the Jewish people throughout their history. I remember once I had a two-hour-long meeting with the executive board of the DAIA to ask it to undertake some kind of action in defense of my brother. But it was useless.
In April 1978, the DAIA finally issued a statement approving the government's shift of Timerman from prison to house arrest.


Israel

The reluctance of the Jewish establishment in Argentina to defend Timerman added to Israel's difficulties in choosing a way to respond to the political crisis in the country. As an Israeli ambassador wrote after the fact, "the leaders are offended because Timmerman is accusing them of behaving like the '' Judenrat'', and the publication of the announcement f an awardseems to lend credence to an accusation of this kind, so they do not like it at all".Rein & Davidi, "Exile of the World" (2010), p. 15. The Israeli government maintained diplomatic ties and arms sales to the Argentine regime during this period. Appeals from the Argentine Jewish community, which was disproportionately targeted in the
Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 a ...
, were generally ignored by the Israeli government. The
Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (wit ...
prohibited discussion on this topic. Yet Timerman's high-profile arrest, particularly in light of his known Zionist affiliations, elicited a diplomatic response from Israel. According to historian Raanan Rein and journalist Efraim Davidi,
"Israel's official policy can be described as an effort to show the junta that it had committed a serious error in arresting the journalist but to avoid rousing international public opinion against the regime and, even more important, to avoid attributing antisemitic proclivities to the leaders of the dictatorship."Rein & Davidi, "Exile of the World" (2010), pp. 9–11.
The Israeli government secretly pressured Argentina to free Timerman, but did not make public demands as it did on behalf of Jews in the Soviet Union. Yishayahu Anug, director-general of Israel's Foreign Ministry, wrote:
"I would say not that Timerman is crucial for us but rather that we are crucial for his release. It is not an emotional issue but one of cool judgment. The formula consists in creating the sense that his release is vital for Argentina's image and also for Israel and the positive development of our relations with them."
As part of this approach, Israeli diplomats sought to downplay press coverage of Timerman's imprisonment. According to a 2001 account by Timerman's son Héctor, Israeli Ambassador Ram Nirgad and the American-Argentine rabbi
Marshall Meyer Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer (March 25, 1930 – December 29, 1993) was an American Conservative rabbi who became a recognized international human rights activist while living and working in Argentina from 1958 to 1984, during the period of the "Dirty ...
visited the Timerman house. Nirgad asked Timerman to sign a letter saying that he was well treated and had no problems with the government. The journalist refused and said he'd rather remain in detention. Héctor Timerman, ”Israel, la dictadura y los consejos de Avivi", '' Pagina/12'', 3 July 2001. After the failure of Nirgad's initial efforts to achieve Timerman's release, through conversations with Videla and others, Israel sought to add pressure by proxy. Anug's new plan solicited the quiet assistance of anti-communist diplomats and authors in other nations. Not much progress had been made before Timerman was released in 1979.


United States

Timerman condemned
Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
(Nixon's
National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...
) for supporting the military regime, even after President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
took office. Carter raised his administration's concerns about human rights in Argentina publicly when General Videla visited Washington DC in November 1977 to sign the
Panama Canal Treaties Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
. Rep.
Silvio O. Conte Silvio Ottavio Conte (November 9, 1921 – February 8, 1991) was an American lawyer and politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for 16 terms, representing the 1st Congressional District of Massachusett ...
of Massachusetts visited Timerman in early 1978, subsequently calling for his release and characterizing his imprisonment as a human rights issue. As part of a broad change in foreign policy based around human rights, the United States
Carter Administration Jimmy Carter's tenure as the 39th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 1977, and ended on January 20, 1981. A  Democrat from Georgia, Carter took office after defeating incumbent Republican Preside ...
in 1978 had condemned Argentina's activities. In doing so, it reversed the position of the preceding Nixon Administration, which had supported the 1976 military coup. While Timerman was still detained under house arrest in 1979, Patricia Derian, the US Secretary for Human Rights, reported that the Argentine human rights situation had improved. In August 1979, a group of 18 US Congresspeople spoke out on Timerman's behalf. These included
Chris Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the List of United Sta ...
, John H. Rousselot,
Gus Yatron Constantine "Gus" Yatron (October 16, 1927 – March 13, 2003) was an American businessman, boxer, and politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district from ...
, Benjamin Stanley Rosenthal, Henry Waxman, and Gladys Spellman, who compared the situation in Argentina to the Nazi
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
. Several commentators have credited the Timerman case and his 1981 memoir with raising awareness of human rights abuses in South America with an otherwise apathetic United States audience.


Other powers

The
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
also maintained ties with Argentina's government during this period, and the nations had trade relations. Diplomatic relations were not particularly strong, as Videla opposed communism and considered Argentina to be part of a general alliance with Israel against the USSR.


1978 World Cup

The
1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by ...
took place in Argentina, providing publicity to both the military regime and its opponents. The government sought to engineer a win for its team by any means necessary. Timerman later said that Argentine dissidents all rooted for the Dutch football team, out of appreciation for the Netherlands' efforts to counteract the regime's self-promotion.


Release and exile

On 19 September 1979, the Argentine Supreme Court of Justice responded to a ''
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, ...
'' petition and ordered Timerman's immediate release. On 20 September, the government held a large secret meeting to decide its response. Some military leaders wanted to disobey the ruling, but President Videla and others threatened resignation, insisting on Timerman's release. On 25 September, the Foreign Ministry confirmed that Israel would accept Timerman. His Argentine citizenship was revoked, and he was placed on a flight to Madrid, en route to Israel. One of the escorting Israelis, Pinhas Avivi, advised Timerman to remain quiet about his imprisonment. He disregarded this advice and gave a press conference by telephone as soon as he landed in Madrid. He traveled to Israel, arriving in time for
Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...
. His wife and three sons also moved to Israel.


Israel

Upon arriving in Israel, Timerman took up residence in
Ramat Aviv Ramat Aviv Alef or Ramat Aviv HaYeruka, and originally plainly Ramat Aviv ( he, רָמַת אָבִיב, ''lit.'' Spring Heights), is a neighborhood in northwest Tel Aviv, Israel. History Ramat Aviv was founded in 1950s following the great i ...
(a neighborhood of
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
). He was given Israeli citizenship. The military had confiscated all his assets in Argentina, but he still owned a summer home in Uruguay, which he sold. He made an agreement with '' Ma'ariv'' to write six articles on his imprisonment. These were to be syndicated internationally. Timerman was dissuaded from publishing the articles by Foreign Ministry director Yosef Chechanover. He met with him in October 1979 and argued that an exposé would endanger "disappeared" Jews and their families in Argentina. Seeking to maintain good relations with Argentina to avoid reprisals against political prisoners, the Israeli government downplayed the significance of Timerman's imprisonment. The Foreign Ministry pressed for relocation of the ceremony on 25 May 1980, when Timerman was to receive the Golden Pen of Freedom Award, from the
Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (wit ...
to a room in
Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public university, public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein ...
.
Yitzhak Shamir Yitzhak Shamir ( he, יצחק שמיר, ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms, 1983–1984 and 1986–1992. Before the establishment ...
, the minister of foreign affairs, passed over the ceremony in favor of a holiday reception at the Argentine embassy. Prime Minister
Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. ...
did not attend either, although organizers had at first expected him.


Press

Two weeks after Timerman's release, Nissim Elnecavé editorialized in ''La Luz'' (a conservative Jewish Argentine newspaper) that the journalist had been a subversive. He said the publisher had been released because of (not in spite of) his Judaism. This editorial was reprinted in '' La Prensa'', another conservative pro-regime newspaper, on 14 October. Two days later the Argentine ambassador Jorge Aja Espil had it delivered to each member of the U.S. Congress.


''Prisoner Without a Name''

In Tel Aviv, Timerman wrote and published ''Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number'' (1981), a memoir about his experience in Argentina, which also covered the larger political issues. The book gained instant international popularity. Timerman was invited to lecture about his experience in Israel, Europe, Canada, and the United States, which increased his international recognition and publicized the human rights situation in Argentina. The book weaves together different narratives, discussing Timerman's imprisonment, his biography, and larger topics of Argentine politics. ''Prisoner Without a Name provided new details to the world about the Argentine military dictatorship. For instance, it described a weekly lecture called "The Academy" held for police and military officers, who were taught that they were fighting a "World War III" against left-wing terrorists. The book describes anti-semitism and anti-intellectualism within the military regime. In 1983, it was made into a television film, '' Jacobo Timerman: Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number''.


Responses

The book was published first in English, by Knopf in the United States with
Ashbel Green Ashbel Green (July 6, 1762 – May 19, 1848) was an American Presbyterian minister and academic. Biography Born in Hanover Township, New Jersey, Green served as a sergeant of the New Jersey militia during the American Revolutionary War, and w ...
as senior editor. ''Ma'ariv'' was slated to publish a Hebrew version in Israel but pulled out of the project. Domino published it instead.
Amos Elon Amos Elon ( he, עמוס אילון, July 4, 1926 – May 25, 2009) was an Israeli journalist and author. Biography Heinrich Sternbach (later Amos Elon) was born in Vienna. He immigrated to Mandate Palestine in 1933. He studied law and history ...
noted in an editorial in '' Ha'aretz'' that "one of the main shareholders of ''Ma'ariv'' has close business ties with Argentina ��Timerman put many people in a bind in this country and at ''Ma'ariv'' by criticizing the Begin government's internal and external policy. The dignitaries and public figures who welcomed him at the airport have distanced themselves from him. We can guess why". The Canadian Patrick Martin compared ''Prisoner Without a Name'' favorably to works by
Arthur Koestler Arthur Koestler, (, ; ; hu, Kösztler Artúr; 5 September 1905 – 1 March 1983) was a Hungarian-born author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest and, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria. In 1931, Koestler join ...
,
Alexander Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repre ...
, and
Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel (, born Eliezer Wiesel ''Eliezer Vizel''; September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in F ...
, writing: "But this book is important because the writing is lyrical, even in its horrific detail; because the author is skilful in providing historical respites as the reader travels along the edge of revulsion. It is important also because the events happened today, in this hemisphere. It has never seemed so real". Patrick Martin, "Argentine 'disappearances' never seemed so real", ''Globe and Mail (Canada)'', 30 May 1981. President Videla complained to a newly appointed Israeli ambassador in 1980 that Timerman was "orchestrating a campaign to defame Argentina around the world". The Argentine government maintained that Timerman had been arrested mostly because of his involvement with David Graiver. Argentine diplomats continued to pressure Israel on the topic, saying that Timerman "takes the name of the Holocaust in vain by comparing Argentina today with Nazi Germany". Israel reduced its official discussion of Timerman, retracting from the ''Southern Cone'' a pamphlet that discussed awards he received in Israel. In 1982, Colonel Ramón Camps (the Buenos Aires Police Chief who had been directly involved in torturing Timerman) wrote, with assistance from ''La Prensa'' publisher Máximo Gainza, ''Caso Timerman: Punto final'', a response to ''Prisoner Without a Name.'' He wrote that Timerman "was destroying the bases of society" with ''La Opinión'', particularly its "cultural supplements and section on international politics". He called Timerman a "champion" of
Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
, "the heresy of modern times".


Lefever nomination and Kirkpatrick Doctrine

In 1981, Timerman publicly opposed U.S. President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
's nomination of Ernest Lefever as Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs. When Timerman attended a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee pertaining to Lefever, his presence brought additional attention to the issue of human rights in Argentina. Timerman had praised Patt Derian, who had held the Human Rights position during his imprisonment. During the hearing, Senator Claiborne Pell asked if Lefever would speak against "disappearances" as Derian had done; Lefever responded, "I believe my job is to help sensitize the entire foreign policy establishment to the concern for human rights rather than play a Sir Galahad role going around the world on personal missions". As a foreigner, Timerman was not allowed to testify at the hearing. He spoke to reporters in the hall outside, commenting that "a quiet diplomacy is a silent diplomacy ��Nations maintained a silent diplomacy with Hitler, and you see what happened".Christian Williams, "The Torture of Jacobo Timerman; Witness to Torture; The Agony & the Witness of the Journalist & the Jew", ''Washington Post'', 22 May 1981; accessed via Lexis Nexis Academic, 30 May 2013. He continued, discussing human rights and US foreign policy:
Do you expect to change a government with a policy? No, if you want to change the government you have to send in the Marines. What a human rights foreign policy does is save lives. And Jimmy Carter's policy did. How many? I don't know. Two thousand? Is that enough? But that policy is even more important to you than to us. It builds up a democratic consciousness in the United States. It is more important for the United States that Lefever be defeated than for Argentina. I am very disappointed in President Reagan. A new administration is entitled to change an approach, to change a strategy, but not to change a policy. The policy of human rights belongs to United States history. This administration is not changing a strategy, but an ideology.
Timerman's opposition is credited with ensuring the failure of the Lefever nomination. Conservative US critics, such as William Buckley,
Norman Podhoretz Norman Podhoretz (; born January 16, 1930) is an American magazine editor, writer, and conservative political commentator, who identifies his views as " paleo- neoconservative".
, and
Irving Kristol Irving Kristol (; January 22, 1920 – September 18, 2009) was an American journalist who was dubbed the "godfather of neoconservatism". As a founder, editor, and contributor to various magazines, he played an influential role in the intellectua ...
, criticized Timerman's comments and noted that he had a relationship with the indicted, late banker
David Graiver David Graiver (1941 — 1976) was an Argentine businessman and banker who was investigated in the 1970s for alleged money laundering of US$17 million for the Montoneros, a leftist guerrilla group. He was indicted for embezzlement after his rep ...
, accused of laundering funds for leftist guerrillas. Kristol used the Graiver connection to explain the inaction of the Jewish community in Argentina, suggesting that it had "implicitly vindicat dthe Reagan administration's prudent policy on human rights". On the other hand, Timerman's experiences were used as good reason by some to oppose the Kirkpatrick Doctrine—a key concept under the Reagan Administration for maintaining diplomatic relations with regimes that were classified as "authoritarian", not "totalitarian". The failure of the Lefever nomination disappointed the Argentine government. Aja Espil, the Argentine ambassador in Washington, wrote to his government that "it must be analyzed not as an isolated incident, but in conjunction with a resurgence in the campaign against the Argentinian government, exacerbated by the publicity over Timerman and his book". Timerman became the object of increasing political controversy in the US. As his high-profile alarmed the Argentine military government, it responded by releasing interrogation transcripts suggesting a connection between Timerman and the discredited Graiver.


''The Longest War''

Soon after completing his prison memoir, Timerman and other journalists were taken to Lebanon to see Israel's 1982 war up close. In response, he wrote a book titled, ''The Longest War: Israel's Invasion of Lebanon'' (1982). He was deeply disturbed by the
1982 Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, dubbed Operation Peace for Galilee ( he, מבצע שלום הגליל, or מבצע של"ג ''Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil'' or ''Mivtsa Sheleg'') by the Israeli government, later known in Israel as the Lebanon War or the First L ...
although he had been an ardent Zionist for most of his life. Timerman was also disappointed by Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory. He wrote: "And I'm angry, too, with us, with the Israelis who by exploiting, oppressing, and victimizing them he Palestiniansmade the Jewish people lose their moral tradition, their proper place in history." The book describes Timerman's decisions: still recovering from having been tortured in prison, he advised his son Daniel to accept a jail sentence rather than do military service in Lebanon. Daniel was sentenced to prison. Described by some critics as "a polemic" and "unabashedly pro-Palestinian", the book identifies Israel as the aggressor in the 1982 conflict. Timerman compared Israel's treatment of Palestinians to South Africa's treatment of Blacks under
Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
. He also criticized the U.S. policy in the Mideast: "History will not forgive the United States for not having taken a hand in the conflict long before 1973, as would have been proper for the leading power at the time." Timerman included an epilogue about the Sabra and Shatila massacre, a mass slaughter of Palestinians in Lebanon refugee camps that occurred in September 1982. He held the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
and the government's foreign policy responsible.
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
Rabbi
Arthur Hertzberg Arthur Hertzberg (June 9, 1921 – April 17, 2006) was a Conservative rabbi and prominent Jewish-American scholar and activist. Biography Avraham Hertzberg was born in Lubaczów, Poland, the eldest of five children, and left Europe in 1926 with ...
"found imerman'scriticism of the Israel Army exaggerated." Timerman was one of the earliest and most outspoken Israeli critics of the war, and his status as a Zionist human rights advocate made his opinion difficult to discount. But his position was not popular among Israelis, who justified the war to themselves. "Jacobo Timerman is asking for trouble", wrote Canadian journalist Patrick Martin, then the Middle East correspondent for ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
.'' "He has been in Israel for less than three years and has written a book which attempts to purge the Jewish state of its hatred for Palestinians". Patrick Martin, "A cri de coeur. A polemic more than a political book. It will definitely be attacked", ''Globe & Mail'' (Canada), 18 December 1982; accessed via Lexis Nexis Academic. In addition, his book received little coverage by the Jewish press and others in the United States. In 1982 deputy foreign minister Yehuda Ben Meir said on the United States news program ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique st ...
'': "We got him out of Argentina. Now he attacks and denigrates Israel. Any rational person can understand that his book is a collection of calumnies and lies arising from his own self-hatred". Timerman was shunned by some Israelis and American Jews after his criticism. Later many of his obituaries in the Israeli and US press downplayed or omitted this period of his life to avoid acknowledging his criticism of Israel.


Journeys and return to Argentina

Sometime after the publication of ''The Longest War'', Timerman left Israel with his wife. According to journalist
Amos Elon Amos Elon ( he, עמוס אילון, July 4, 1926 – May 25, 2009) was an Israeli journalist and author. Biography Heinrich Sternbach (later Amos Elon) was born in Vienna. He immigrated to Mandate Palestine in 1933. He studied law and history ...
, Timerman felt disappointed by the Israeli state—not "like a Jew coming home", as he had hoped. Nevertheless, said Timerman, "I am an Israeli citizen, I behave like an Israeli citizen, and I am always going to be an Israeli citizen." He moved to
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
and then to New York. Timerman praised the
election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...
of Raúl Alfonsín, saying: "Alfonsín's victory has opened an era of democracy that is a completely new phenomenon in Argentina." Judge Fernando Zavalia had, in July 1982, ordered the release of all others arrested in connection with the Graiver case. (However, not all had been freed.) On 7 January 1984, he and Risha returned to
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
. One son stayed in Israel and another settled in New York. A third returned to Argentina. Timerman retained his Israeli citizenship, commenting soon after his return to Buenos Aires: "I am an Israeli citizen. If the Argentine government voluntarily decides to give me my Argentine citizenship back, I will accept it only as long as I can keep my Israeli nationality." Upon returning to Argentina, Timerman testified to the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (''Comisión Nacional sobre la Desaparición de Personas'', CONADEP) about his experience in prison. With Rabbi
Marshall Meyer Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer (March 25, 1930 – December 29, 1993) was an American Conservative rabbi who became a recognized international human rights activist while living and working in Argentina from 1958 to 1984, during the period of the "Dirty ...
(co-chair of the commission along with Ernesto Sabato), he re-visited the prisons where he underwent torture.CONADEP: 'An Extraordinary Appointment'
",
'I Have No Right to Be Silent' – The Human Rights Legacy of Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer
', ''Duke University Libraries'', traveling exhibit
In 1985 the government prosecuted numerous people for crimes committed during the
Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 a ...
in the
Trial of the Juntas The Trial of the Juntas ( es, Juicio a las Juntas) was the judicial trial of the members of the ''de facto'' military government that ruled Argentina during the dictatorship of the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional (''el proceso''), which last ...
, and major figures were convicted and sentenced to prison. In 1986 Congress passed Ley de Punto Final, stopping the prosecutions and "putting a line" under the events. Timerman became director of ''La Razón'' (The Reason), but also published articles in other papers. As a journalist, Timerman continued to criticize the government of Israel for what he considered its shortcomings. A 1987 op-ed by Timerman in ''
El Pais EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American ...
'' described Israel as "intoxicated", akin to a European colonial power in its exploitation of Palestinian labor. He noted that Israelis and some Americans who had formerly given him awards were unhappy with his criticism of Israel. During this period, he said in an interview with the journalist Richard Curtiss,
"How am I received now by those American organizations that gave me awards a few years ago? My old friends meet with me and whenever I visit the States I'm still invited to speak to some Jewish groups about the problems with Israel. Privately many of them agree that Israel isn't everything we wanted it to be. What they don't realize is that if we want it to change, we have to say so. Until the American Jewish community realizes this, there's no role in Israel for people like me."


''Chile: Death in the South''

In 1987, Timerman released ''Chile: Death in the South'', a critical examination of life under the dictator
Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...
. The book highlights the poverty, hunger, and violence inflicted by Pinochet's military dictatorship. It also argues that Chilean society had lost cultural depth in the environment of political repression. Timerman argues that Chilean centrists and right-wing must be prepared to step in and govern in place of the military. He also suggested that the Catholic Church would play an important role in renewal of the country. The book was translated into English by Robert Cox and published in the United States and London.


''Cuba: A Journey''

Timerman's 1990 book on Cuba criticized both the Communist government and the adverse effects of the US blockade on Cuba. He suggested that little political change could be achieved in the country until Castro's rule ended.


Dissident once more

Timerman was an early critic of
Carlos Saúl Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. He ...
of the
Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party ( es, Partido Justicialista, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Current president Alberto Fernández belongs to the Justicialist Party (and has, since 2021, serve ...
, who became a presidential candidate after serving as governor of La Rioja Province. In 1988, during the presidential campaign, Timerman criticized Menem's plan to establish a
free port Free economic zones (FEZ), free economic territories (FETs) or free zones (FZ) are a class of special economic zone (SEZ) designated by the trade and commerce administrations of various countries. The term is used to designate areas in which co ...
at Isla Martin Garcia, saying it would encourage drug trafficking and money laundering. Menem filed a libel suit against the journalist that year. Timerman was acquitted in the trial, as well as in an appeals trial.Juan Jesús Aznarez, "El Supremo argentino manda detener a Timerman, denunciado por Menem"
''El Pais'', 30 March 1996, accessed 4 June 2013
Timerman opposed Menem during his election campaign in 1988. Menem was elected with 47.5% of the vote, defeating the
Radical Civic Union The Radical Civic Union ( es, Unión Cívica Radical, UCR) is a centrist and social-liberal political party in Argentina. It has been ideologically heterogeneous, ranging from social liberalism to social democracy. The UCR is a member of the S ...
candidate. In 1991 he pardoned major figures who had been convicted of kidnapping, disappearances and torture committed during the Dirty War and sentenced to prison. Timerman condemned Menem for giving the pardons. He wrote in a 1991 editorial:
In April 1977, General Carlos
Guillermo Suárez Mason Carlos Guillermo Suárez Mason (January 2, 1924 – June 21, 2005) was an Argentine military officer convicted for Dirty War crimes during the 1976–1983 military dictatorship. He was in charge of the Batallón de Inteligencia 601. Biography ...
ordered my kidnapping in Buenos Aires. A few days ago this man, the cruelest leader of the dirty war, was released from prison, pardoned by President Carlos Saúl Menem. Argentina had obtained his
extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...
from the US, charged with 43 murders and the kidnapping of 24 people who have since
disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organi ...
. During those months of 1977, Colonel Ramon Camps, the most brutal torturer of the dirty war, was in charge of the torture I suffered during interrogation. A few days ago he too was set free, pardoned by Mr. Menem. He had been accused of 214 extortionist kidnappings; 120 cases of torture, 32 homicides; two rapes; two abortions resulting from torture; 18 thefts; and the kidnappings of 10 minors who have disappeared.
Timerman warned that Argentina was slipping back into totalitarianism, and wrote "I hardly live in Argentina anymore" due to fear of meeting a former torturer. "Almost all the torturers were free before this latest batch of pardons", wrote Timerman, "but now the leaders who conceived, planned, and carried out the only
genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the ...
recorded in Argentinian history are also at large." In 1992 Timmerman testified against Menem in a case regarding the citizenship of arms dealer Monzer al-Kassar. The journalist began spending more time outside the country. His health was failing; he had a heart attack and later surgery after a stroke. In 1996, with journalist
Horacio Verbitsky Horacio Verbitsky (born February 11, 1942) is an Argentine investigative journalist and author with a history as a leftist guerrilla in the Montoneros. In the early 1990s, he reported on a series corruption scandals in the administration of Presi ...
, novelist Tomás Eloy Martínez, and others, Timerman co-founded a press freedom organization in Buenos Aires known as ''Periodisitas''. In March 1996, the Supreme Court ordered a new trial in the libel case first opened in 1988 by Menem and twice won by Timerman. Menem's attorneys had alleged procedural errors. Timerman had written to the Court, declining to defend the case again, from Uruguay, where he had retired. Timerman said there was no arrest warrant against him and that he had been persecuted and condemned to "a second exile." He said he had not written for years, nor appeared on TV or in lectures, and had been ill. He noted that the President of the Supreme Court was an associate of Menem's in their law practice in La Rioja. ''Periodistas'', the Association for the Defense of Independent Journalism, protested the order for the trial.


Death

Severely depressed following his wife's death in 1992, Timerman suffered failing health in his last years, but continued to fight for press freedom. He died of a heart attack in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
on 11 November 1999.


Later events

In 2003 the Argentine Congress repealed the 1986 Ley de Punto Final. The government re-opened prosecution of crimes committed during the Dirty War. In 2006 Miguel Etchecolatz, Director of Investigations, in the provincial police, who had overseen Timerman's arrest and torture, was convicted and sentenced to prison. In its sentencing, the 3-judge tribunal described the actions of Etchecolatz against political prisoner as genocide, the first time the term was applied that way in Argentine trials.Klein, Naomi
''The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism''
Macmillan, 2007; , , pp. 100–102: "The presiding member of the court, Carlos Rozanski, described the offences as part of a systematic attack intended to destroy parts of society that the victims represented and as such they constituted genocide. Rozanski noted that the International
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG), or the Genocide Convention, is an international treaty that criminalizes genocide and obligates state parties to pursue the enforcement of its prohibition. It was ...
(CPPCG) does not include in its list of offences the elimination of political groups (that category was removed at the behest of Stalin), but the court based its decision on the 11 December 1946 United Nations General Assembly Resolution, unanimously adopted by member-nations, barring acts of genocide 'when racial, religious, political and other groups have been destroyed, entirely or in part', adding that the court considered the original UN definition to be more legitimate than the politically compromised CPPCG definition."
On 9 October 2007, the Catholic priest
Christian Von Wernich Christian Federico von Wernich (born 27 May 1938 in Concordia, Entre Ríos Province) is an Argentine Roman Catholic priest and a former chaplain of the Buenos Aires Province Police while it was under the command of General Ramón Camps, during th ...
, personal confessor of provincial chief of police Ramón Camps and holding rank of inspector under Etchecolatz, was convicted of involvement in the abduction and torture of Timerman and numerous other political prisoners in the 1970s. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.


Legacy and awards

*1979, near the end of his imprisonment, Timerman won the Hubert H. Humphrey First Amendment Freedom Prize from the Jewish
Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
. *In 1980, Timerman was awarded the
Golden Pen of Freedom The Golden Pen of Freedom Award is an annual international journalism award established in 1961, given by the World Association of Newspapers to individuals or organisations. The stated purpose of the award is "to recognise the outstanding action, i ...
by the
World Association of Newspapers The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization made up of 76 national newspaper associations, 12 news agencies, 10 regional press organisations, and many individual newspaper ...
in recognition of his courage in defending the right to free expression and press freedom. *His 1981 memoir, ''Prisoner Without a Name'', earned him many awards: ** Conscience-in-Media Award from the
American Society of Journalists and Authors The American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) was founded in 1948 as the Society of Magazine Writers, and is the professional association of independent nonfiction writers in the United States. History The organization was established i ...
**
CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction The CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction is a British literary award established in 1978 by the Crime Writers' Association, who have awarded the Gold Dagger fiction award since 1955. In 1978 and 1979 only there was also a silver award. From 1995 to 200 ...
** Hillman Prize ** ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize for Current Events ** Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award from the Institute for Policy Studies **
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
*1984, Argentine President Raúl Alfonsín decorated him with The Order of the Liberator General San Martín, the country's highest honor. *2000, Timerman was posthumously named as one of the International Press Institute's 50
World Press Freedom Heroes International Press Institute World Press Freedom Heroes are individuals who have been recognized by the Vienna-based International Press Institute for "significant contributions to the maintenance of press freedom and freedom of expression" and "i ...
of the past 50 years.


Family

Jacobo and Risha Timerman had three sons together. When they emigrated to Israel, their sons accompanied them. The Timermans returned to Argentina in 1984, after leaving Israel in 1982, and living briefly in Madrid and New York City. Daniel Timerman settled in
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, where he and his wife had three children. As a young man, he was sentenced to multiple prison terms for refusing to serve in the 1982 Lebanon war.Rein & Davidi, "Exile of the World" (2010), pp. 20–21. Héctor Timerman also returned to Argentina and became an author and journalist. He served as
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
's Foreign Minister in the 21st century. He was previously Consul in New York and was appointed Ambassador to the United States of America in December 2007. Javier Timerman settled in New York with his wife and three children.


See also

* History of the Jews in Argentina *
Andrew Graham-Yooll Andrew Michael Graham-Yooll OBE (5 January 1944 – 5 July 2019) was an Argentine journalist, the son of a Scottish father and an English mother. He was the author of about thirty books, written in English and Spanish. ''A State of Fear'' ( El ...
* List of memoirs of political prisoners *
Héctor Germán Oesterheld Héctor Germán Oesterheld, also known as his common abbreviation HGO (born July 23, 1919; disappeared and presumed dead 1977), was an Argentine journalist and writer of graphic novels and comics. He has come to be celebrated as a master in his ...
* List of war films based on books (post-1945)


References


Sources

* * Guest, Iain. ''Behind the Disappearances: Argentina's Dirty War against Human Rights and the United Nations''. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990. * * Mochkofsky, Graciela. ''Timerman: El Periodista Que Quiso Ser Parte Del Poder''. Argentina: Sudamerica, 2004. * Rein, Ranaan. ''Argentine Jews or Jewish Argentines? : Essays on Ethnicity, Identity, and Diaspora. Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2010. * *


External links


Timerman's testimony to the National Commission on the Disappearance of PersonsPhotograph of Timerman shortly after release
{{DEFAULTSORT:Timerman, Jacobo 1923 births 1999 deaths Soviet emigrants to Argentina Argentine journalists Male journalists Argentine Ashkenazi Jews Argentine magazine founders Argentine newspaper founders Argentine people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Argentine prisoners and detainees Argentine torture victims Jewish Argentine writers Maria Moors Cabot Prize winners Memoirs of imprisonment Naturalized citizens of Argentina People from Bar, Ukraine Soviet Jews 20th-century journalists Argentine Zionists