Editing Jacobo Timerman (section)

===Reactions to his imprisonment===
Timerman became the single most famous Argentine political prisoner of the Dirty War.<ref>Rein & Davidi, "Exile of the World" (2010), p. 4. "Once his arrest became public knowledge, Timerman was the most famous Argentine political prisoner both inside and outside of the country.</ref> His wife, Risha, helped to raise international awareness about his imprisonment.<ref name=Forward /> Within the Argentine press, only the ''[[Buenos Aires Herald]]'' (written in English) covered Timerman's arrest. ''Herald'' editor [[Robert Cox (journalist)|Robert Cox]] was later arrested and imprisoned.<ref name=Diuguid /><ref>Rein & Davidi, "Exile of the World" (2010), p. 9.</ref>

====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.<ref>Rein & Davidi, "Exile of the World" (2010), p. 10. "Timerman's arrest also caused a stir in the Jewish-Argentine establishment, particularly the DAIA. Although Timerman had many rivals among the community leaders, several considered themselves his friends. But the institutions as such said hardly a word in public on the subject".</ref>

According to Jacobo's brother, José:<ref>Rein & Davidi, "Exile of the World" (2010), p. 11; quoted from Gabriela Lotersztain, ''Los judíos bajo el terror: Argentina 1976–1983'' (Buenos Aires, 2008), 264.
</ref>

<blockquote>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.</blockquote>In April 1978, the DAIA finally issued a statement approving the government's shift of Timerman from prison to house arrest.<ref>Rein & Davidi, "Exile of the World" (2010), pp. 10–11. Quote: "Finally, in April 1978, the president of the DAIA, Nehemías Reznitsky, asked the executive board of the organization to issue a communiqué expressing approval of the decision to move Timerman to house arrest".</ref>

====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 [of an award] seems to lend credence to an accusation of this kind, so they do not like it at all".<ref name="Rein 2010 p. 15">Rein & Davidi, "Exile of the World" (2010), p. 15.</ref>

The Israeli government maintained diplomatic ties and arms sales to the Argentine regime during this period, despite the Carter Administration's end to US weapons transfers under the Kennedy-Humphrey Amendment.<ref name="Kennedy-Humphrey Amendment">{{Cite web|url=https://www.intelligence.gov/argentina/history|title=INTEL - Argentina Declassification Project: History}}</ref> Appeals from the Argentine Jewish community, which was disproportionately targeted in the [[Dirty War]], were generally ignored by the Israeli government. The [[Knesset]] prohibited discussion on this topic.<ref>Rein & Davidi, "Exile of the World" (2010), pp. 6–8. "The State of Israel maintained close relations with the military dictatorship in Argentina. Despite the antisemitic attitudes of the junta, relations between the two countries flourished in those days, first during the government of Labour Party leaders [[Yitzhak Rabin]] and subsequently under the administration of [[Menachem Begin]] and the [[Likud Party]] [...]</ref>

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, 
<blockquote>"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."<ref name="Rein 2010 pp. 9">Rein & Davidi, "Exile of the World" (2010), pp. 9–11.</ref></blockquote> 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.<ref name="Rein 2010 pp. 9"/>

[[Yishayahu Anug]], director-general of Israel's Foreign Ministry, wrote: 
<blockquote>"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."<ref>Rein & Davidi, "Exile of the World" (2010), p. 12.</ref></blockquote>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 Timerman|Héctor]], Israeli Ambassador [[Ram Nirgad]] and the American-Argentine rabbi [[Marshall Meyer]] 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.<ref name=HT2001>[[Héctor Timerman]], ”Israel, la dictadura y los consejos de Avivi", ''[[Pagina/12]]'', 3 July 2001.</ref><ref>Rein & Davidi, "Exile of the World" (2010), p. 16.</ref>

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.<ref>Rein & Davidi, "Exile of the World" (2010), p. 13. “A letter sent by Anug on January 10, 1978, to the ambassadors emphasized that they should not accuse the junta of having adopted antisemitic positions, involve leftists in this activity, or join the international campaign against the Argentine dictatorship. They should act discreetly, at most publishing personal columns in major dailies. The plan did not achieve the desired results.”</ref>

====United States====
Timerman condemned [[Henry Kissinger]] (Nixon's [[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Advisor]]) for supporting the military regime, even after President [[Jimmy Carter]] took office.<ref name=AllDutch /> Carter raised his administration's concerns about human rights in Argentina publicly when General Videla visited Washington DC in November 1977 to sign the [[Torrijos–Carter Treaties|Panama Canal Treaties]].<ref name=WP14April78>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|146916953}} |last1=Krause |first1=Charles A. |title=Argentina May Release Symbol of Military's Repressive Policy |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=14 April 1978 |page=A14 }}</ref> Rep. [[Silvio O. Conte]] of Massachusetts visited Timerman in early 1978, subsequently calling for his release and characterizing his imprisonment as a human rights issue.<ref>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|542168151}} |last1=Bono |first1=Agostino |title=Finding a Crime to Fit the Punishment |work=The Sun |location=Baltimore |date=4 April 1978 |page=A13 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|146966998}} |title=Plea for Argentine Editor |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=15 March 1978 |page=A24 }}</ref>

As part of a broad change in foreign policy based around human rights, the United States [[Carter Administration]] 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.<ref>Rein, ''Argentine Jews or Jewish Argentines?'' (2010), p. 227. "Even the US government, headed by the leader of the Democratic Party, [[Jimmy Carter]], had joined those who were openly criticizing the Argentine military junta's continual human-rights violations. This was a reversal of the approach taken by the preceding Republican administration, which, according to now declassified documents, had supported the perpetrators of the military coup and even advised them to intensify the repression before US public opinion demanded an accounting. "</ref><ref>Rein & Davidi, "Exile of the World" (2010), pp. 5–6.</ref>

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.<ref name=Martin1981 />

In August 1979, a group of 18 US Congresspeople spoke out on Timerman's behalf. These included [[Chris Dodd]], [[John H. Rousselot]], [[Gus Yatron]], [[Benjamin Stanley Rosenthal]], [[Henry Waxman]], and [[Gladys Spellman]], who compared the situation in Argentina to the Nazi [[Holocaust]].<ref name=JP10Aug1979 />

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.<ref>Schoijet, ''The Timerman Affair'' (1983), p. 21. "Until the appearance of Timerman's book, the general attitude of the American public and media toward Argentina's tragedy could be characterized as one of not wanting to know. [...] Jacobo Timerman managed the trick of forcing the loathsome reality of the contemporary Dark Ages down there, South of the South, down the throats of so many reluctant people.</ref>

====Other powers====

The [[Soviet Union]] also maintained ties with Argentina's government during this period, and the nations had trade relations.<ref name="Rein 2010 p. 15"/><ref>Rein, ''Argentine Jews or Jewish Argentines?'' (2010), p. 232.</ref> 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.<ref>Rein & Davidi, "Exile of the World" (2010), p. 15. "Despite Argentina's significant trade relations with the Soviet Union, Videla held anti-Soviet views in the spirit of the Cold War, and he saw Argentina and Israel as partners in the struggle against Bolshevism".</ref>