page_title: Antisemitism in Venezuela
section_title: 2009 Israel conflict and synagogue attacks
hierarchical_section_title: Antisemitism in Venezuela / 21st century / Public incidents / 2009 Israel conflict and synagogue attacks
caption_attribution_description: English: Graffiti on the wall of the Israeli Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela.(1)
context_page_description: Antisemitism in Venezuela has happened occasionally in Venezuela throughout the history of the Jews in Venezuela. However, under the presidencies of both Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, allegations of antisemitism grew following actions and statements by the Venezuelan government, while also occurring in public incidents. The Bolivarian government would also use the words of "Jewish" and "Zionist" interchangeably in order to avoid accusations of antisemitism.
  The Jewish population also declined rapidly under the Bolivarian government according to the Algemeiner Journal, with an estimated population of 22,000 in 1999, falling to under 7,000 in 2015.
context_section_description: Following the onset of the 2009 Israel-Gaza conflict, the Venezuelan government expressed disagreement with Israel's actions. On 5 January, President Chávez accused the United States of poisoning Palestinian president Yasser Arafat in order to destabilize the Middle East. He also described the offensive by Israel as a Palestinian "holocaust". Days later, the Venezuelan foreign ministry called Israel's actions "state terrorism" and announced the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and some of the embassy staff. Following the order of expulsion of the Israeli ambassador, incidents targeting various Jewish institutions occurred in Venezuela. Protests occurred in Caracas with demonstrators throwing shoes at the Israeli Embassy while some sprayed graffiti on the facility. At the Tiféret Israel Synagogue, individuals spray painted "Property of Islam" on its walls. Later that month, the synagogue was targeted again.
  During the night of January 31, 2009, an armed gang consisting of 15 unidentified men broke into Tiféret Israel Synagogue, the synagogue of the Israelite Association of Venezuela, the oldest synagogue in the Venezuelan capital Caracas and occupied the building for several hours. The gang tied and gagged security guards before destroying offices and the place where holy books were kept; this happened during the Jewish shabbat. They daubed the walls with anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli graffiti that called for Jews to be expelled from the country. They had also stolen a database that listed Jews who lived in Venezuela. Nicolás Maduro, who was the acting Foreign Minister at the time, condemned the act as a "criminal act of vandalism". The Information Minister Jesse Chacón also condemned the attack and denied it had any connection with the government. US politicians called on President Hugo Chávez to protect the country's Jews following the outbreak. Sixteen Republicans and Democrats wrote a letter demanding an "end to the intimidation and harassment of the Jewish community."
  In February 2009 the Venezuelan authorities arrested 7 police officers and 4 civilians, with two individuals were associated with the synagogue, for robbery. According to the El Universal, the CICPC's report stated that one of ten arrested defendants, Edgar Alexander Cordero, a bodyguard for a rabbi at the synagogue and a Metropolitan police officer, asked the rabbi for a loan which he refused to give. Cordero decided to rob the synagogue of money, which he believed was locked in its safes. According to Interior Minister Tarek El Aissami, anti-semitic vandalism had merely been a tactic, "First, to weaken the investigation, and second, to direct the blame toward the national government."
  Shlomo Cohen, Israel’s ambassador in Caracas received a call from the Venezuelan government on 6 February that all Israeli embassy staff had 72 hours to leave the country. The next day on 7 February, President Chávez organized an anti-Israel march saying that Israel was committing "Nazi-like atrocities" in Gaza. On Venezuelan television, Venezuelan government officials were seen wearing kaffiyehs, Palestinian flags were waved in the streets and images of praying Muslims in mosques were shared. Shortly after Israeli consul Danny Biran was called in to assist with the dismantling of the embassy, President Chávez broke diplomatic ties with Israel and all Israeli diplomats lost their diplomatic immunity and were deemed illegal aliens. Consul Biran called for help from others in Buenos Aires, Panama, New York and Miami and on arrival, all of them were intercepted at the airport, held for 9 hours, then escorted to the embassy by Venezuelan army personnel. Venezuelan troops monitored the Israeli diplomats closely, taking photographs and interrogating those who entered the embassy. Consul Biran stated that the military personnel were under the direct orders of President Chávez and two officers, one with alleged ties to Hezbollah. On 22 February, the flag of Israel and the embassy sign was taken down and the Israeli Embassy in Caracas was closed.
  Four days later on the evening
caption: Graffiti on the wall of the Israeli Embassy in Caracas, saying "Jews (Judios) go home!" and signed by the JCV.
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