B'nai B'rith International (BBI) is outraged byyet another example of the extreme growing hostility toward Jews in Venezuela, as a Caracas synagogue was vandalized on January 30. The armed perpetrators threw Torah scrolls and prayer books on the floor, and wrote on the walls: "We don't want Jews here," and "Jews get out." "This horrible attack is a direct result of the anti-Semitic atmosphere that President Hugo Chavez is cultivating," said B'nai B'rith International President Moishe Smith. "Chavez is inciting hatred by singling out Jews in Venezuela from their countrymen."
Over the last few years, Jews in Venezuela have been increasingly the target of ever-bolder anti-Semitic attacks. In December, the Venezuelan government expelled Israel's ambassador over the conflict in Gaza. During that time,
Chavez publicly said to Venezuelan Jews that they should stand up against Israel, and he compared the Israeli incursion in Gaza to the Holocaust.
Chavez's recent and growing partnership with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad further demonstrates his danger to the Jewish population. Ahmadinejad, the leader of the world's largest state-sponsor of terrorism, has publicly called for the extermination of Israel. The results of the Chavez-Ahmadinejad collaboration are becoming clearer.
Chavez has made a mockery of his commitment made last year together with the presidents of Brazil and Argentina, to combat anti-Semitism. This latest anti-Semitic act demonstrates once again the vulnerability of Jews in Venezuela.
"This has got to stop," said BBI Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin. "It is unacceptable for a government to incite hatred. Chavez has cultivated an environment where his followers feel comfortable threatening Jews."
BBI is calling on world leaders to publicly denounce this grave incident.
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