January Vandalization of Jewish Synagogue in Venezuela

January 31,2009

Following the constant criticism surrounding Operation Cast Lead, a Caracas synagogue was vandalized with slogans such as "We don't want Jews here" and "Jews get out". David Bitan the Vice President of the Jewish Community said that the intruders broke down the synagogue door and threw scripture books on the floor and proceeded to write hateful statements on the wall. The guard was found on the floor clearly threatened by the criminals at around 3 a.m. The Jewish community filed an official report with the police department saying,"This is a very complicated situations for the Jews in Venezuela. The slogans were not against Israel but against the Jews." A spokesperson for the Federation stated," We've never had such an incident. It looks well planned. We were afraid something like this would happen. The official press was becoming more and more anti- Israeli and anti- Jews. There are hundreds of anti-Semitic articles, ads and filers."
This event signifies a turn in the anti-semitism within Venezuela. This is the first act that is not against Israel, but rather the Jews themselves. It finally got personal and the community is scared. The fact that this attack came right after extreme criticism of Israel by president Hugo Chavez came as no coincidence, and the community wondered if he had any connection to it. If acts like this continue and are not condemned by the government the situation for the community will be extremely grave and the survival of the community will be in question.
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