UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Meet Latin American Jews

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NEW YORK, Nov. 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- United Nations Secretary- General Kofi Annan will meet with leaders of the Latin American Jewish Congress on Friday in Montevideo, Uruguay.

The delegation, coordinated with the World Jewish Congress, will express appreciation for the Secretary-General's past leadership in addressing international anti-Semitism and Holocaust commemoration. At the same time, the Jewish leaders will urge the United Nations to hold Iran accountable for the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community headquarters in Buenos Aires, and Iran's ongoing sponsorship of international terror and pursuit of nuclear capability. The delegation will also brief Secretary-General Annan on the growing sense of vulnerability felt by Latin American Jewry, most visibly in Venezuela.

"At a time when enemies of civil society and pluralistic democracy are gathering support in Latin America, the Secretary- General's meeting with regional Jewish community leaders will send a clear message that Jews and all citizens are deserving of equal respect and protection," said Israel Singer, Chairman of the World Jewish Congress Policy Council.

The Latin American Jewish Congress is the representative body of Latin American Jewish communities, and is affiliated with the World Jewish Congress ( http://www.worldjewishcongress.org ), the global assembly of Jewish communities and diplomatic arm of the Jewish people.

USNewsWire