Uruguay: Jewish community alarmed by UN vote

Jewish community is concerned with apparent Uruguayan approach to Iran while distribution of material for sexual education is suspended and disturbances in high school education do not stop. 

Jewish discomfort with Uruguayan external policy

There was general discomfort among the Jewish community in Uruguay after the government decision to vote against Israel in the United Nations.

The Human Rights Council stipulated a mission to investigate the impact of Jewish colonies in Palestine occupied territories. Uruguay supported this measure.

Israel has been concerned about Uruguay’s approach with Iran, in line with the ALBA country, particularly Venezuela, Ecuador and Nicaragua. This translates in the Uruguayan abstention to vote in favour of the policy to send an UN court reporter to Iran.

“The vast majority of our community feels disconcert. We can’t help being very astonished and disagree. We are worried”, declared Roberto Cyjon, president of the Central Israeli Committee of Uruguay. They cannot understand why a country as Uruguay has an international behaviour similar to those of dictatorial governments in Africa.

Sets for sexual education suspended

On Wednesday the Public Health Ministry announced that public schools were going to be provided with a set of condoms, intrauterine devices and lubricants as part of the sexual education. The aim is to provide teachers with material to illustrate their explanations, not to distribute among the students.

Yet, the National Administration for Public Education has not approved the set. The argument was that they seemed not to have been informed about it. Therefore, they suspended the distribution of the sets until they could test the components of it.

The miscommunication between the ministries seems alarming. Possibly it will prevent the programme of reaching the students.

Disturbances in high school education

In the middle of discussions around High School issues, the school 70 in La Teja was taken this week. The police had to intervene to clear the place which caused disturbances.

Originally, occupying the school was an initiative of the parents driven by the demand of improvements in the building. The main problem is that the school does not have proper toilets. Instead, students have to use buckets or wait to be home.

Yet, students, professors and parents were followed by members of other trade unions. The police reported these were part of the radical left which triggered the worst disturbances. They believe these people just appeared in the school occupation to complicate the duty of the police.

In reference to the general problem, President Mujica blamed a childish left to be behind the struglee to an agreement in education. He believes there is not a good will to understand the State which does as much as it can to solve the building problems.