The Second Summit of Arab-South American Countries concluded in Doha, Qatar, on March 31, with the approval of a declaration summarizing the council’s stance on several global issues, including the conflict in the Middle East. Both the language used in the document and the stances taken therein strike a clear anti-Israel tone.
One of the prominent pieces of the declaration deplores the recent Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip without even mentioning the irrational and murderous behavior of the terrorist group Hamas, which caused the operation in the first place. This biased and superficial analysis of the conflict does nothing to advance real peace in the region.
B’nai B’rith is especially disappointed by the fact that so many Latin American leaders, whose countries have a long history of positive relations with the state of Israel, have agreed with the text of this declaration.
“B’nai B’rith is frustrated by the text of the document,” said BBI Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin. “The declaration is profoundly insensitive to the violence that the civilian population in southern Israel has suffered for years.”
BBI President Moishe Smith noted: “To demonize Israel when it acts to protect its citizens, after years of showing a restraint that no other country would have been asked to demonstrate, is both hypocritical and dishonest.”
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