Venezuela’s revolutionary president, Hugo Chavez, met with the head of the World Jewish Congress, the Latin American Jewish Congress, and Venezuelan Jewish leaders in Caracas on this date in 2008.
Also in attendance was Argentina’s ambassador to the United States, Héctor Timerman (the son of Jacobo Timerman), who reported that Chavez said that he wanted to “join in on the work together with presidents Lula da Silva and Cristina Fernandez (of Brazil and Argentina) to achieve the eradication of anti-Semitism in Latin America . . .” About a third of the Venezuela’s mostly middle-class Jewish population of 20,000 has emigrated since Chavez came to power, made uncomfortable by his socialist policies, his friendly overtures to Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and his forceful condemnations of Israel’s wars in Lebanon and Gaza (Chavez broke off diplomatic relations with Israel during the Gaza attack).
Jewish institutions have also been subjected to police raids, allegedly because of government suspicion that Israel is helping to finance opposition groups in Venezuela. In April 2009, Venezuela officially recognized the existence of the State of Palestine and in September repeated an accusation that Israel was guilty of committing genocide against the Palestinians.
“I recognize the right of Israel to live, like those in every other country,” Chavez said. “. . . But Israel must respect this principle of self-determination for Palestinians.” In September, 2010, Chavez met again with Venezuelan Jewish leaders to discuss the problem of anti-Semitism in the media, much of which is government-controlled. “We do not deem [antisemitism] a state policy,” said David Bittan Obadia, vice president of the Confederation of Israelite Associations of Venezuela, “but the government has the tools to stop it.”
“Israel finances the Venezuelan opposition, the counter-revolution. There are groups, even Israei terrorists, the Mossad, that are after me, trying to kill me.” -Hugo Chavez