Venezuela Goes Antisemitic

I am acquainted with Rabbi Pynchas ND Brener since 1955. He was my Bar Mitzva instructor and the most important influence on my early life as an observant Jew, facilitating my entrance into a Yeshiva high school, Chofetz Chaim, Forest Hills, Queens, 1960-1964. My late mother was the secretary of the synagogue, Holliswood Jewish Center.

In 1967, he went down to Caracas, Venezuela (he came to the US from Peru in 1949 or so, so Spanish is a natural language for him).




And why all this build-up?

Two items.

The first:

Venezuela's Jews close their schools

The Jewish community in Caracas is "tense" and "preoccupied" in the wake of President Hugo Chavez's decision to expel the Israel ambassador, Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Venezuela Pynchas Brener said on Thursday. "This government has been very friendly with Iran," Brener said. "And many Venezuelans make no distinction between Jews and Israelis - maybe they are right."

Brener, 77, who spoke with The Jerusalem Post by telephone from New York, said that Jewish schools in Caracas closed for few days out of concern that they would attract anti-Israel demonstrations...

...In 2002, Brener, a graduate of Yeshiva University who has been a rabbi in Venezuela for 41 years, supported a coup against Chavez that succeeded in deposing him for less than a week in April 2002. Since then, Brener has been on bad terms with the government.

The rabbi said the latest incident affecting the Jewish community was the decision by the government to expropriate ownership of a large mall that was built by a Jewish businessman outside the San Bernadino district in Caracas.

In addition, twice in recent years Venezuelan military forces have raided the 1,400-pupil Jewish school in the Los Chorros neighborhood, ostensibly looking for arms...

and the second

Armed men forced their way into a Caracas synagogue, defacing its administrative offices with anti-Semitic graffiti and vandalizing an interior room where the Torah is kept, officials said.

About 15 men forced their way into the Mariperez Synagogue in Venezuela's capital about 10 p.m. Friday, staying until about 3 a.m., police said. They tied up a security guard at the synagogue before vandalizing the rooms.

Graffiti left at the scene included the phrases "Damn the Jews," "Jews out of here" and "Israel assassins." The men also left behind a picture of a devil, authorities said.

The men stole computers and administrative papers or documents, officials said. They did not cover their faces, but took the recordings from security cameras with them. Video Watch destruction caused by vandals »

The synagogue had canceled services in recent weeks because of a feared backlash from the Israeli military operations in Gaza...

and this

According to David Bittan, Vice President of the Jewish Organization of Venezuela, the hoodlums occupied the building from 10PM yesterday till 3:00AM this morning. During that time, they profaned the holy Sefer Torah, which is the Jewish holy book of prayer and laws, and spray painted the interior walls of the Synagogue with "fuera, muerte a todos" and "Israel malditos, muerte" Translation: "get out, death to you all" and "damned Jews, death to you"...

...We are also being told that a few ago, without fanfare or publicity, three of the most important rabbis in the community were expelled from the country. Their names for the record are Rabbi Mizrahi, Rabbi Cohen and Rabbi Brenner.

And there are people who, in their imbalanced criticism of Israel, in their misrepresentation of the truth place innocent human beings in danger of injury and death and then wonder why some of us can't understand their obtuseness and insensitivity.

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Background here and here and here