President Hugo Chavez met with Jewish leaders on Wednesday, pledging to work together against anti-Semitism and open up channels of communication despite strong differences on Mideast politics.
Both Chavez and leaders of the World Jewish Congress called the meeting a success.
“There may be some differences of opinion on some issues – on major issues such as Iran and also the Middle East,” Michael Schneider, the organization’s secretary-general, said after the meeting. “But when it comes to anti-Semitism, I think we’re on the same page.”
“We mentioned our concerns about anti-Semitism and asked him what his position was,” Schneider said. “And he said he was certainly not an anti-Semite.”
Other participants in the meeting was Venezuela’s Ambassador to the U.S., Bernardo Alvarez and the President of the Venezuelan Jewish community, Abraham Levi Benshimol.
Foreign Minister Maduro expressed that he hopes that this drawing closer of Venezuela and the WJC “will be maintained.”
Relations between the Chavez government and the Venezuelan Jewish community, which have generally been cordial, were strained when Chavez strongly criticized the state of Israel for its bombing campaign in Lebanon in 2006 and temporarily withdrew Venezuela’s ambassador to Israel.
Venezuela’s close relationship with Iran has also caused unease among Jews in Venezuela and abroad. Venezuela’s close relationships with Iran and with Arab countries, which have been strengthened in recent years, have a long history, though, due to Venezuela being a founding member of OPEC.
More complicated have been relations with representatives of international Jewish groups, such as the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which accused Chavez of anti-Semitism when he gave a Christmas address in 2005. Venezuela’s Jewish community, though, defended Chavez at the time, saying that the Wiesenthal Center had taken Chavez’s comments out of context.
Despite this defense and Chavez’s own denial that he harbors anti-Semitic sentiments, numerous media reports on Venezuela, published in the Washington Post, the Miami Herald, and several Jewish publications have continued to portray the Chavez government as being anti-Semitic.
(Venezuelanalysis.com / Associated Press)
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3 Responses
The first paragraph must have been written to be dark satire. Chavez met with Jewish leaders and is …”pledging to work against anti-semitism despite differences on Mideast politics?” That is the line of the day!
What in the world is Schneider smoking?
For Hugo Chavez to be against the Reshoim in the Israeli government doesn’t necessarily make him anti-semitic against frum yidden. It’s brought down that all kings/leaders are controlled by Hashem like pawns. Hashem is just trying to deliver the Israelis a message that He is unhappy with their rishus.