Israeli backpackers suffer anti-Semitic attack in Argentina

Assailants attacked the travellers' room while they were sleeping

Sharp focus: El Chaltén in Argentine Patagonia (Getty)

A group of young Israeli backpackers have been subjected to a violent anti-Semitic attack whilst travelling around Argentina.

The backpackers were awoken in the early hours of the morning to the sound of smashing windows and shotgun fire at the hostel they were staying in, according to a report in the Guardian newspaper.

The hostel’s owner, Yoav Pollac, has since closed the hostel, which is popular with young Israel backpackers.

He said that the attackers, three men, shouted: “You shit Jews, you are trying to take over Patagonia,” as they bore down on the travellers.

“They came in throwing stones, smashing windows. They chased after three cars in which some of our guests tried to escape and wrecked them. They injured me, my brother and my father, who is almost 70 years old,” Mr Pollac told the newspaper.

Ten of the tourists were injured in the attack, according to the Israel newspaper the Jerusalem Post. They were robbed, burned and beaten.

Three of the six police officers who arrived to control the scene were hospitalised with blows to the head, one of them losing teeth after having his jaw broken.

The attack happened between 1am and 4am on Monday of this week.

The incident took place in the region of Patagonia, which is popular with tourists for its natural beauty.

The hostel’s owned said he had closed the establishment for the safety of his guests, noting that one of its cabins had been previously burnt down with a petrol bomb.

The hostel attracts Israeli guests with a Hebrew-language Facebook page.