Overview
- President José María Balcázar, speaking Tuesday at Lima’s Chamber of Commerce, claimed Jews partly pushed Germany into World War II by controlling banks and trade, prompting a joint rebuke from Israel and Germany that called the assertion absurd and demanded a retraction.
- Following Wednesday night’s backlash, the presidency issued a communiqué saying the remarks referenced Antonio Escohotado’s book, expressed regret for creating an “equivocal perception” about Jews, and restated Peru’s condemnation of Nazism and antisemitism.
- Balcázar said Thursday his comments were misinterpreted and that he had apologized, while Foreign Minister Carlos Pareja reported calls with Israel’s ambassador and leaders of Peru’s Jewish community who now consider the matter resolved.
- Peru’s Jewish association condemned the remarks and sought a prompt public apology, and the Renovación Popular caucus gave the president 24 hours to apologize or face unspecified constitutional actions.
- Editorials and political figures called the claims false and diplomatically harmful, and Balcázar later suggested confusion stemmed from poor “reading comprehension,” which kept domestic criticism alive despite the diplomatic de-escalation.