Argentina's Chief Rabbi Gabriel Davidovich attacked during break-in

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Image captionMr Davidovich's attackers stole money and reportedly told him "We know that you are the Amia Rabbi"

Argentina's Chief Rabbi has been taken to hospital after being beaten in a night-time attack at his home in the capital Buenos Aires. 

Rabbi Gabriel Davidovich said his wife was restrained during the break-in while he was attacked.

In a statement, Amia - a Jewish cultural centre - said the attackers stole money and told Mr Davidovich: "We know that you are the Amia Rabbi."

The organisation said comments made by his attackers were "a cause for alarm".

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack. "Anti-Semitism must not be allowed to rear its head," he said in a statement.

Mr Davidovich, who has been Argentina's chief rabbi since 2013, was being treated for several fractured ribs and a punctured lung, according to local press reports. Police said they were investigating the incident as a robbery.

The attack came just a day after seven Jewish graves were defaced with Nazi symbols in San Luis in western Argentina. The country is home to nearly 200,000 Jews - one of the world's largest Jewish populations outside Israel.

In 1994, the Amia building was targeted in a bomb attack that killed 85 people and remains the country's deadliest terrorist incident. Much of the evidence was subsequently lost or contaminated and no-one has been convicted in connection with the bombing.