Tiféret Israel Synagogue attack
The Tiféret Israel Synagogue attack was the profanation of the synagogue, the oldest in Caracas, Venezuela in the night of 31 January 2009, during the shabbat. The attack occurred during the 2008–2009 Gaza War, after Venezuela severed diplomatic relations with Israel and that Israel expelled Venezuelan officials from the country. Background. Following the onset of the 2009 Israel-Gaza conflict, the Venezuelan government expressed disagreement with Israel's actions. On 5 January, Venezuelan President Hugo 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. Attack. During the night of 31 January 2009 , an armed gang consisting of 15 unidentified men broke into Tiféret Israel Synagogue, the synagogue of the Israelite Association of Venezuela and the oldest synagogue in the Venezuelan capital Caracas and occupied the building for several hours. Security guards were tied up and gagged and the gang destroyed offices and the place and the repository where the holy books were stored; 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. Investigation. In February 2009 the Venezuelan authorities arrested 7 police officers and 4 civilians, with two individuals who 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." Reactions. Nicolás Maduro, who was the acting Venezuelan Foreign Minister at the time, condemned the act as a "criminal act of vandalism". The Information Minister Jesse Chacón also condemned the attack; he denied that there was any connection with the government. US politicians called on President Hugo Chávez to protect the country's Jewish population following the event. Sixteen Democrats and Republicans wrote a letter demanding an "end to the intimidation and harassment of the Jewish community."