New York – Supporters say he’s an innocent man caught up in the tentacles of a corrupt Latin American regime.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Authorities in Bolivia, however, allege that he’s a shady businessman with ties to drug dealers and money launderers.
What’s certain is that Jacob Ostreicher, a 53-year-old Chasidic Jew from New York, is in a state of limbo, sitting in a jail in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz waiting to be tried or released on bail.
Four weeks ago, in a bid to pressure authorities to expedite the handling of his case, Ostreicher began a hunger strike.
“Every human rights violation is being broken in my case,” he told JTA this week in a telephone interview from prison. “I have no alternative to getting my freedom unless I become ill and it becomes a humanitarian issue.”
The hunger strike he launched April 15 follows 10 months of appeals to the U.S. State Department. His wife, Miriam Ungar, organized a protest on Ostreicher’s behalf on May 3 opposite Bolivia’s United Nations mission.
Shame on Hillary (Jew Hater) Clinton for ignoring this issue.
If America really wanted him out, they could have done it. They were able t get people out of north Koria and Iran.
Shame on ALL of “our” politicians not a single one was there. Yossie
Please sign the petition for his release, https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/exercise-powers-vested-you-see-it-jacob-ostreicher-us-citizen-freed-bolivia/RB4XXzyb
Reply to #4 : Dov Hikind was there; see the video on Youtube.
Reply to #5 : Jacob was not involved in drugs or money laundering. The Bolivian govt. has been unable to come up with any evidence of this; they just “appropriated” his rice business and have been quietly selling it off. This JTA article is very misleading. Go to the “Free Jacob Now” website or Facebook page for the full story. ABC Nightline is supposed to air a segment Friday night 5/10/12 on this story. Please sign the petition to President Obama to help free Jacob. Its a huge mitzva of Pidyun Shvuyim.
Lacking any information showing his case has been mishandled, I cannot get worked up about this.
Does anyone know his name for tehilim?
reply to #9 : yaakov yehuda ben shaindel
reply to #8 : So gain the information by going to the  220;Free Jacob Now 221; website and then make your judgement. Anyway, he is a fellow Jew who is being held captive and we are obligated to help him in any way we can.
Why not do some slight investigation? Because I have seen a hundred cases just like this. American comes to another country and runs afoul of local law. American supporters then scream about things that do not work as they do in the US. Sadder still are the Americans locked up who lack even families to support them. Lord knows the American embassy will not help. After all the “War on Drugs” was our idea. Nothing special in this case.