Venezuela: Post-Flotilla Reactions in Venezuela

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) published a report about rising anti-Semitism in Venezuela, in the aftermath of the Gaza flotilla incident. The report includes a list of remarks made by Hugo Chaves and some other key government officials, as well as a list of articles from the Venezuelan press.

As per usual, Aporrea published heavy anti-Israel and anti-Semitic content. ADL translated excerpts of some of the articles since the flotilla incident. However, it is interesting to see the amount of articles (of course, pejorative) that were published about the matter in early June. Links to Aporrea's archive (in Spanish, but it is possible to understand key words): June 1 June 2 June 3 June 4 June 5 June 6 June 7 Translations using GoogleTranslate: June 1 June 2 June 3 June 4 June 5 June 6 June 7

Lastly, the ADL also compiled anti-Israel and anti-Semitic cartoons from the Venezuelan media that relate to the flotilla accident.

It is a shame what has become of Venezuela. We can only hope that the situation does not get much worse and that the world is well-informed of the extreme anti-Israel and anti-Semitic movements that this country is producing, many times sponsored or even generated by Chaves’ government.

Venezuela: “Chavez Imports Mid East Conflict to Latin America as Cover Up for Local Rights Violations”

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez called on his Bolivia and Nicaragua allies to assault Israel at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva during the debate on the Gaza flotilla.

The move was directed by Venezuelan ally, Iran’s Ahmadinejad, thus importing the Mid East conflict into Latin America.

Both presidents have exploited the well-known tactic of Jewish conspiracy to cover up their domestic rights violations.

Hugo Chávez now accuses Israel of “financing the Venezuelan opposition, the counter-revolution”, and that “there are Mossad commandos who want to murder me.” He added provocatively that “I doubt that a Venezuelan Jew would support such an atrocity”.

“This transposition of the Arab-Israeli conflict exposes Latin America to an Iranian influence that endangers hard won democracy and, especially, Jewish communities across the continent. The OAS must hold Chávez to account for the consequences”, said Dr. Shimon Samuels, Director for International Relations of the Simon Wiesenthal Center

“In January, 2009, following Chavez’ expulsion of the Israeli Ambassador, a pro-government group published a plan of action against the Jewish community. This was followed by the desecration of the Mariperez Synagogue”, added Sergio Widder, Director for Latin America of the Center.


Original article: http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=lsKWLbPJLnF&b=4441467&ct=8424051

Argentina: First-Ever Jewish Minister of Foreign Affairs

The ambassador of Argentina in the United States, Héctor Timerman, was appointed the new chancellor of Argentina, replacing Jorge Taiana, who resigned from the position. Timerman became the first Jewish Minister of Foreign Affairs in Argentina. He has a close bond with the Argentinean Jewish community, and he helped the relatives of the victims of the 1994 AMIA bombing in their fight for justice.

Timerman served as General Consul of Argentina in the United States from July 2004 to December 2007, when he was appointed Ambassador. Previously, he was a successful journalist, directing and collaborating with several journals both in Argentina and in the world. Timerman is a co-founder of America's Watch, a human rights organization in the United States with Observer status in the United Nations. In addition, he was a member of the Directors’ Committee of the Fund for Free Expression (now called the Free Expression Project of Human Rights Watch), an organization that fights censorship around the world..

He is the son of Jacobo Timerman, the recognized journalist who was kidnapped, disappeared and tortured during the Argentinean dictatorship. He was kidnapped in 1977 by militants under the direction of Ramón Camps, an anti-Semitic general who was later condemned of crimes against humanity. He was liberated in 1980, after which he fled to Israel and to the United States. In 1984, Jacobo Timerman gave his testimonial to the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (CONADEP) and it was included in the Never More Report (Informe Nunca Más).


Original article: http://www.prensajudia.com/shop/detallenot.asp?notid=20255

Resuming the blog

Dear readers,
My apologies for not updating the blog in the past few weeks. However, we are going to resume posting on a regular basis as of today.
If you would like to collaborate with an article, please send it at latamisrael@gmail.com.
I hope you enjoy the upcoming articles and thank you for your patience.
Regards,
Joan