Venezuelan Jews Meet With Chavez About Anti-Semitism in Media
Venezuelan Jewish leaders met with President Hugo Chavez to discuss the increase in anti-Semitic attacks in the state-run media.
Representatives of the Venezuelan Confederation of Israelite Associations met Chavez Sept. 16 at the presidential palace in Caracas, where they presented him with many examples of anti-Semitic messages that appear in state-run and government-friendly media. The leaders also asked Chavez to re-establish diplomatic relations with Israel, The Associated Press reported.
The leaders thanked the government for raising security at Venezuelan synagogues and Jewish centers during the High Holidays.
In a message posted on his Twitter account, Chavez called the meeting “extraordinary” and said he and the Jewish leaders ended the meeting by “hugging and praying for peace,” according to AP.
Chavez has attacked the Jewish community of Venezuela and Israel in speeches during his 12-year tenure in office.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
