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Venezuela - Jews

There were an estimated 9,000 Jews in Venezuela. Jewish community leaders publicly expressed concern about numerous anti-Semitic statements in the official media and by President Chavez. There were widespread reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice, including anti-Semitism.

It is probable that the Polish-Jewish military adventurer, Isidor Borowski (b. in Warsaw, 1803; killed at the siege of Herat, Afghanistan, 1837), who fought under the great hero of South American independence, Simon Bolivar (1783-1830) in many battles, was then the only Jew in that part of the world. Even by the end of the 19th century, the number of Jews in the countries liberated by Bolivar was insignificant. Jewish congregations were formed in Caracas and Coro, Venezuela, in the middle of the nineteenth century, presumably by Jews who lived there formerly as Maranos. But if these congregations existed at all, they must have been short-lived. By 1900 there were about 500 Jews in Venezuela, mostly in the capital, Caracas, where the first Jewish congregation was founded in 1899.

The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela officially broke diplomatic relations with Israel on 14 January 2009. In a communique disseminated by state media, Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro expressed Venezuela's solidarity with a similar decision taken by President Evo Morales in Bolivia, and simultaneously called on the international community to punish Israeli leaders via the International Criminal Court for the military action taken in Gaza.

According to the official statement, "The Government of Venezuela broke diplomatic relations with Israel in protest over the offensive in the Gaza Strip and the attitude of the Hebrew State, which has not taken into consideration the calls of the international community to end the violence." The Venezuelan Government's announcement came on the heels of the January 6 expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and members of his embassy staff.

There was a marked increase in anti-Israel/anti-Semitic graffiti in Caracas and other Venezuelan cities following the military action in Gaza. Intolerance is typically expressed through the use of symbols equating the State of Israel with fascism, such as graffiti painted on the walls of the cathedral in Maracay depicting the Star of David with a swastika inside accompanied by the words "Israel and Assassins." Similar graffiti and anti-Israeli rhetoric was spray-painted in locations in Caracas, including the National Assembly, downtown plazas and office buildings, and the perimeter walls of the Maripez synagogue.

The pro-Government Diaro VEA newspaper published several offensive political cartoons and editorials related to Israel's intervention in Gaza. For example, a December 30, 2008 VEA cartoon depicts two skeletons representing the United States and Israel surrounded by a pool of Palestinian blood congratulating themselves. A January 15 VEA cartoon depicts a Palestinian man holding a dead child accompanied by the words "Get Out of Palestinian Territory Zionist Assassins."

In November 2008, VEA printed editorials and cartoons accusing the opposition Miranda State Governor Henrique Capriles Radonski of being a Zionist in the pocket of Israel. Although state media criticism of the United States and Israel is not new, the scope and intensity of the rhetoric have increased since the military action in Gaza began.

The Confederation of Jewish Associations in Venezuela (CAIV) and other Jewish organizations have received numerous telephone death threats. CAIV was wary of asking for police support from the central government out of fear that the Venezuelan Government is interested in discrediting, not helping, the Jewish community.

CAIV published large advertisements in major local newspapers on January 16 criticizing the Venezuelan Government's decision to sever diplomatic ties with Israel and reminding the Venezuelan Government that it had a responsibility to protect the security of all its citizens. The CAIV advertisement also noted that CAIV "shares the pain for the tragic loss of lives that the conflict has caused."

The Venezuelan Government's strong reaction to events in Gaza appeared to have more to do with domestic politics in the lead-up to Chavez's February 15th referendum to eliminate term limits. Despite a December 17 communique signed between President Hugo Chavez (Venezuela), President Cristina Kirchner (Argentina) and President Lula Da Silva (Brazil) promising to reduce religious intolerance and discrimination, the Venezuelan Government appears to be fanning the flames of anti-Israel feeling for political expediency.

On 05 January 2009, President Chavez publicly called Israel's government "Genocidal... a government of assassins," and since then Venezuelan Government officials are vocally expressing support for the Palestinians in a way that fails to distinguish between criticism of Israel and hostility toward Jews. Venezuelan Government officials and state media outlets were engaging in sweeping and virulent attacks on Israel that were fostering an anti-Semitic environment inside Venezuela.

During the 2013 Presidential campaign, the government-affiliated media regularly contained anti-Semitic statements, including some comments against former opposition presidential candidate Capriles, a practicing Catholic of Jewish ancestry. For example, the website Aporrea.org published an article that linked Capriles’ support for military intervention in Syria with his Jewish heritage and allegedly suspicious relationships with named Jewish leaders and organizations in Venezuela.

During 2014 there were instances of anti-Semitism in government-owned and government-affiliated media, and Jewish community leaders publicly expressed concern. During the summer conflict in Gaza, President Nicolas Maduro compared Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip to the Holocaust in several public speeches. On July 23, President Maduro said: “The Gaza Strip has been turned by the Government of Israel into a huge Auschwitz, into a huge concentration camp.” On August 2, the President of the National Assembly and vice president of the ruling party, Diosdado Cabello, reportedly said: “In Israel, there is a smell of sulfur, the demon is there, and imperialism is sown there to finish with the people of the world.” On July 16, an opinion piece on a government-affiliated website stated that Israeli leaders were “applying the same logistics of the Nazi extermination” and “Hitler is a baby compared to the Zionist leadership.”