Even before an attack on a Caracas synagogue in which Torah scrolls were thrown to the floor and “death to the Jews” was painted on synagogue walls, the Jews of Venezuela were feeling threatened.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s rhetoric linking the country’s Jewish community to Israel’s military operation in Gaza caused the Jewish community to step up security a few weeks ago, according to reports. And on Jan. 24, in a harbinger of the attack six days later, a rabbi walking on Shabbat was beaten by a group of attackers before being rescued by taxi drivers.
In the Jan. 30 incident, up to 15 people attacked the Tiferet Israel Sephardic synagogue, throwing the scrolls and damaging some, and painting the epithets on the walls reading “Jews, get out.”
The synagogue’s guard was held at gunpoint and was found on the floor of the building by members on that Shabbat morning, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Chavez condemned the attack the following day, suggesting that his political foes were responsible
“We condemn the actions on the synagogue of Caracas,” Chavez said in a televised speech.
The president suggested instead that Venezuela’s “oligarchy” — wealthy power brokers who oppose his socialist government — could have been behind the attack. He said they want to reduce his chances of victory on a Feb. 15 referendum that would allow him to stay in office after his term ends in 2013.
“Who benefits from these violent incidents? It is not the government, nor the people, nor the revolution,” he said.
But this was not the first such attack on Jewish institutions in the country, which broke off diplomatic relations with Israel over the Gaza military operation. In response, Israel expelled the Venezuelan envoy and his embassy staff.
The same synagogue was vandalized last month, as was the Israeli Embassy. A community center was raided in 2007 in a search for illegal weapons. None were found.
Chavez and local media had stepped up their criticism of Israel recently, with Chavez going so far as to tell his fellow citizens that they should speak to their Jewish neighbors in order to make Israel stop its assault on Gaza, a Latin American observer said.
On Jan. 6, when he broke off relations with Israel, Chavez said, “A Palestinian community lives here with us which we adore and love, and there are also Jews that live here who we love as well, but I wish the Jewish community would declare themselves against this barbarism.
“Don’t you strongly denounce any act of persecution and the Holocaust? What do you think we are looking at [in Gaza]? Put your hand on your heart and be fair.”
With the embassy closed, international Jewish organizations working in Venezuela such as the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the World Jewish Congress are the Jewish community’s only link to some government officials.
Approximately 8,000 to 10,000 Jews live in Venezuela.
While American-based international Jewish groups have expressed concern over the attack and blamed Chavez for creating an atmosphere of hate in Venezuela, observers say it is unlikely that their condemnation will have an effect on the Venezuelan president.
“The total disrespect of a Jewish house of worship reflects the escalating climate of hostility toward Jews in Venezuela,” said David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee.
Harris also said, “There are strong indications that what we are witnessing is a state-sponsored campaign of anti-Semitic persecution, spurred by both Venezuela’s alliance with the Iranian regime and the surge of anti-Israel rhetoric during the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas.”