Report: Venezuelan Jewish Community Under Threat

[The Straight Story]

Report: Venezuelan Jewish Community Under Threat

New York, NY, February 2, 2009 … The violent anti-Semitic attack on a Caracas synagogue on the Jewish Sabbath did not happen in a vacuum. It was the latest manifestation of anti-Semitism in Venezuela, a country whose leaders, government officials, media commentators and others foster an atmosphere of intimidation against the Jewish community, according to a new report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) issued today.

In the weeks since Israel launched its operation against Hamas in Gaza, Venezuela's Jewish community of approximately 15,000 has been the repeated target of hateful rhetoric, intimidation, vandalism of property and threats of organized boycotts, according to the ADL report, Chavez's Venezuela: The Jewish Community Under Threat.

"The anti-Semites in Venezuela feel emboldened and empowered by the rhetoric and actions of President Hugo Chavez and his government," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "The most recent synagogue attack in Caracas did not happen in a vacuum. It took place in an atmosphere of intimidation and threats against the Jewish community that has been building for weeks, stoked by the vile comparisons of Israel's actions to the Nazis coming from President Chavez and his regime."


ADL's report provides a firsthand look into the statements of Chavez and other government officials, showing how the country's virulently anti-Israel attitudes encourage and foster anti-Semitism across society.

"What is troubling about Venezuela is that anti-Semitism is being used as a political tool," Mr. Foxman said. "Anti-Semitism is fostered by those at the highest levels of government, trickled down the government apparatus and left unchallenged by officials in the Chavez regime, the government-controlled media, and civic and religious leaders who support the regime in Venezuela.

http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASInt_13/5462_13.htm