Germany and Israel condemned statements made by Peru\u2019s interim president, Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Balc\u00e1zar, as anti-Semitic. File Photo by John Reyes Mejia\/EPA<\/p>\n
April 30 (UPI) — Germany and Israel condemned remarks by Peru’s interim president, Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Balc\u00e1zar, after he said Germany was “pushed into a war also partly because of the Jews,” triggering a diplomatic dispute and backlash from Jewish organizations.<\/p>\n
The comments came during a speech Wednesday at the Lima Chamber of Commerce, where Balc\u00e1zar cited the book trilogy Los enemigos del comercio by Spanish jurist Antonio Escohotado to argue that the rise of Nazism was linked to alleged Jewish economic and financial influence in Germany between the two world wars.\n<\/p>\n
Balc\u00e1zar told the audience that Jewish citizens “controlled all the banks, all the commerce and practiced usury,” suggesting that Jews had “pushed” Germany toward war.<\/p>\n
In a joint statement, the German and Israeli embassies in Peru described the remarks as anti-Semitic and historically distorted.<\/p>\n
“The claim that Jews controlled German commerce and the banking system violates the memory of millions of citizens murdered by the Nazis,” the statement said.<\/p>\n
The diplomatic missions also called Balc\u00e1zar’s remarks “absurd and historically false.” They said Nazi ideology alone was responsible for genocide and war and urged the Peruvian leader to retract his comments.\n<\/p>\n