The leaders of the Jewish community in Chile have warned that the recent behavior of the country’s president, Gabriel Borek, towards the Israeli ambassador there is “anti-Semitic” and may herald attacks against Jews in the South American country.
Last Thursday, the Chilean Foreign Ministry rescinded the credentials of the Israeli envoy, Gil Arzelle, on the orders of the leftist president, in protest of the killing of a Palestinian teenager earlier that day during an Israeli military operation in the West Bank. Ha’aretz Israeli.
“Out of a number of ambassadors who were waiting that day at the presidential palace to present their credentials to the Foreign Ministry, Arzelli was the only one who was asked to leave,” according to Haaretz.
But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs later apologized, and set a new date for the ceremony, which is September 30.
Haaretz says that when Borek, a “leftist known to be anti-Israel”, was elected president of Chile in December, Jewish community leaders were concerned, however, they gave him the opportunity.
Chile has about 400,000 citizens of Palestinian origin, compared to a relatively small Jewish community estimated at 18,000 people. Haaretz says its current president has “very close ties to Palestinian society.”
Commenting on the president’s recent behavior, an organization representing the Jewish community in Chile warned that “such actions may lead to manifestations of hatred and direct attacks on the Jewish community,” and described the incident as “anti-Semitic.”
The statement indicated that the government should have found other ways to express its criticism of Israel, noting that: “When the problem is with the only Jewish state in the world, these are double standards. It is called anti-Semitism.”
Haaretz says that the latest measure is not the first taken by the new government in Chile and has caused concern among members of the Jewish community.
She notes that when a new government is elected in Chile, the president traditionally receives leaders of the country’s various religious and ethnic groups. Although the leaders of the Jewish community had already sent several requests to meet with Borek, no date was set, and his aides invoked his busy schedule, even though he met with other groups, such as the Palestinians.
It is also customary for the president to attend a special service hosted by the Jewish community in the week leading up to Chile’s Independence Day, which falls on Sunday. Borek did not attend the event, which took place last week, and instead sent a government representative.
“You can say that our initial fears were justified,” Gerardo Gordischer, head of the Jewish community, told the newspaper. “When the Israeli ambassador is treated with such blatant disrespect, it enables people here to carry out acts of hatred and violence against Jews, and that puts us all at risk.”
“It has become difficult to be a Jew in Chile,” said Gabriel Zaliasnik, a former leader of the Jewish community.
Haaretz says that immigration from Chile to Israel is relatively small, but it has increased in recent years. “Many others are leaving for the United States,” Zaljasnik explains.
Jonathan Nowrudsky of the Jewish Progressive Center does not believe that the latest incident will lead to Jews fleeing the country, but it may happen if something similar happens in the future.
He added, “The Palestinians here in Chile are pushing hard for a law to ban the import of Israeli goods… If such legislation is passed, it could be a trigger (for this to happen).”