Chávez Condemns Attack on Venezuelan Synagogue
February 1, 2009 (venezuelanalysis.com)-- Venezuela's President Chávez, Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro, and Communications Minister Jesse Chacon all expressed their categorical condemnation of the vandalism of one of Venezuela's main synagogues early Saturday morning.
The vandalism, in which a group of about 15 unidentified heavily armed individuals entered and systematically defaced the interior of the synagogue, was decried both internationally and in Venezuela by all sides.
The group subdued the two security guards of the synagogue, removed security video recordings, and disabled security cameras. They then spent over four hours in the area, spray painting anti-Israel and anti-Semitic slogans throughout the interior and threw sacred objects, such as the torah, to the ground.
The slogans said such things as "out, death to all" and "damn Israel, death." Also, on the exterior of the synagogue, a week earlier, vandals had spray painted stars of David and swastikas, with an equal sign between the two.
The group subdued the two security guards of the synagogue, removed security video recordings, and disabled security cameras. They then spent over four hours in the area, spray painting anti-Israel and anti-Semitic slogans throughout the interior and threw sacred objects, such as the torah, to the ground.
The slogans said such things as "out, death to all" and "damn Israel, death." Also, on the exterior of the synagogue, a week earlier, vandals had spray painted stars of David and swastikas, with an equal sign between the two.
Venezuela's private media, though, were filled with opposition spokespersons that accused the Chávez government of being responsible for the attack. For example, the oppositional newspaper El Universal quoted a foreign policy expert, Maruja Tarre, as saying, "On state television there is a constant anti-semitism and attempts to equate the state of Israel with Hitler. Later, our government had the strongest reaction in the whole world [against Israel's attack on Gaza] when it expelled its ambassador from Israel."
Graffitti sprayed in the interior of Venezuela's Israeli Association. (AFP)
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