A poster that depicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a bullet hole in his forehead was plastered onto a Chilean synagogue.
By Rachel Avraham
A Santiago synagogue was vandalized on Friday night, according to the Jewish Community of Chile and Israeli ambassador to Chile Peleg Lewi, the Jerusalem Post reported. According to the report, Lewi said that the gate of the Bikur Cholim Synagogue, which is in limited use by the Jewish community, was sprayed with red paint and plastered with a poster that depicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a bullet hole in his forehead.
“If you keep silent, you’re part of genocide,” read some of the graffiti. According to the report, the police are investigating the incident and taking the matter seriously, said Lewi. The Jewish Community of Chile’s representative body condemned the attack in a Sunday X/Twitter post, warning that acts of hatred could not be normalized.
In an X/Twitter post, the American Jewish Committee added: “In a vile act of hate in Chile, vandals defaced one of Santiago’s oldest synagogues. We stand with our partners @ComJudiaChile as Chilean Jews face what has become the dangerous normalization of antisemitism. Earlier this year, @UN_SPExperts issued an “allegation letter” criticizing the Chilean government’s failure to address rising antisemitic attacks. President @GabrielBoric: when will you take responsibility for the safety of your people?”
UN human rights expert Professor Nazila Ghanea, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, recently issued an “allegation letter” criticizing the Chilean government’s indifference to antisemitic attacks, especially since October 2023. In March, she urged the government to address the pattern of antisemitic incidents and requested details on any steps taken to combat hate speech in line with international standards.
In a report published by the American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch proclaimed: ““President Boric and his government must immediately cease all actions that could be interpreted as endorsing or implicitly condoning further harassment and violence against the Jewish community.”
“For more than 18 months, Chile’s Jewish community has faced relentless hatred and harassment. President Boric must act now to prove that Chile’s commitment to international human rights truly protects all its citizens—including Jewish residents and visitors. Chile’s standing as a human rights champion is on the line,” said Dina Siegel Van, Director of AJC’s Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs (BILLA).
Members of the local Jewish community said the synagogue, one of Chile’s oldest, has been targeted before, and authorities have done little to prevent repeated attacks, VINN News reported. According to the report, the attack comes amid heightened tensions in Chile over the country’s stance toward Israel, with ongoing demonstrations and political debate surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict part of the daily life within the Latin American country.
Photo from AJCGlobal: https://x.com/AJCGlobal/status/1959978328003113082
