Mexican Jews Welcome Netanyahu — Despite Backing For Trump’s Wall

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By Daniel J. Solomon September 13, 2017

Mexico’s Jewish community was caught in the cross-hairs this January when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the idea of the United States building a border wall along its southern frontier. But eight months later, the controversy has past, and the community is eagerly anticipating a visit from the Israeli premier.

“It’s all in the past, and it was all settled as a misunderstanding,” Moises Romano Hafif, head of the Mexican Jewish community, told Haaretz. “As a minority, we are extremely happy that he is visiting Mexico… It means a lot that he is stopping by on his way to the United States.”

Mexico is home to 40,000 Jews, and Netanyahu will pass through on a tour of Latin America, which is also bringing him to Brazil and Argentina. The country is Israel’s second-largest trading partner after Brazil.

Netanyahu ignited an international furor when he endorsed President Trump’s border wall idea – with Mexicans expressing outrage at the statement, and the Mexican Jewish community publicly declaring its disagreement.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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