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Venezuelan Students Deface Synagogue; Guards, Government Fail to Condemn
Not only is the act of vandalism committed on the synagogue of Mariperez in Caracas, Venezuela, deplorable, but the Venezuelan government’s failure to condemn the action is particularly distressing.
Some of the participants of a march of students from the Bolivarian University of Venezuela spray painted anti-Israel and anti-Semitic slurs on the synagogue’s external walls, including “Zionists get out of our country,” “Zionists you should pay for the economic crisis,” and “State of Israel, killers, plagues,” without facing any resistance from the guards who are assigned to protect the synagogue 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is the same synagogue that was brutally defaced on January 31 this year.
This continuing pattern of events underlines the prevalent threats of anti-Semitism and hate crimes that have been cropping up with more frequency in Latin America, especially in Venezuela. Between Venezuela’s close ties with Iran and the Venezuelan government’s failure to condemn such blatant hate crimes, the country needs to be constantly kept under vigilant watch.
It is the duty and obligation of organizations like B’nai B’rith International, in addition to the global community, to speak out when these crimes are committed. Action must be taken to assure that hate crimes do not become permissible acts under any government.
B’nai B’rith International, the Global Voice of the Jewish Community, is the oldest and most widely known Jewish humanitarian, human rights, and advocacy organization. For 165 years, BBI has worked for Jewish unity, security, continuity, and tolerance. Visit www.bnaibrith.org.
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