Chile is the country on the Southwest Pacific coast of South America, which runs from a polar south to tropical north. 5% of Chile’s population is Arab, and the majority of that is Palestinian-Christian: Chilestino/Chilestinian.
Chile is a first world country now, very democratic. The Chilestinos are prosperous and wield incredible political power.
Above: Chileans are taking a pro-Palestinian stand.
Now, as noted, the Chilestinos (Palestinian-Chileans, usually Christian) have massive influence in Chile, and take a pro-Palestinian view.
This can be ironic. Spanish culture is centered on the Reconquista, the stuggle to free Spain of the Islamic invaders. One would think such a people would have a sympathy for Israel, and many Chileans do, especially the Evangelicals in Chile.
However, the Chilestinos are elite in Chile and can either sway the Chilean government, or dampen the government’s criticism of Palestinian actions.
Chile, for its part, is home to the largest Palestinian diaspora outside of the Middle East. Migration peaked in the early 20th century, and the Palestinian Chilean population is estimated at between 300,000 and 500,000 people. The size of the community has impacted Chilean culture, domestic politics, and foreign policy for years. A first-division soccer club is named Palestino FC, and its logo features the colors of the Palestinian flag. The Chilean legislature boasts a large Palestinian caucus. In 2005, Chile became one of the first non-Arab countries to join the Arab League as an observer.
A smaller Jewish community of some 20,000 people also live in the country …
Powerful Chilean congressional and private sector groups have campaigned for Palestinian human rights for years, and the public conversation about the escalating situation in Israel-Palestine over the past week has often taken a more long-term, historical perspective than elsewhere in the Americas, including in the United States.
Chilean analysts who have appeared on television and radio programs and written in newspapers following this weekend’s attack have spoken not only about Hamas’s rampage through southern Israel but also about its broader context. …
That’s not to say that Chile’s public debate was without major rifts and controversies. The Palestinian Chilean mayor of a municipality within the Santiago metropolitan area, Daniel Jadue, tweeted immediately after the attack that “the people of Palestine have a right to resist” before later condemning violence against civilians. When asked about Jadue’s comments, the Israeli ambassador said “they crossed all the lines” while acknowledging that many other Chilean Palestinians had directly condemned the Hamas attacks.
Chile is an outlier. Because of its Palestinian population, which is rich and influential, Chile cannot be expected to tow the Western Line when it comes to Israel or Zionism.
Even though most of Chile’s Palestinians are Christian, many descended from refugees who fled Muslim persecution in the 19th and early 20th centuries, they have a blind spot about “Palestine.” They hate the Jewish state, and are vehemently opposed to Israel.
The Palestinian Community is organizing to get its own side of the story about the Hamas-Israel war out to the public.
They had a public meeting on October 11.
Mañana 11 de octubre a las 20:00 horas, te invitamos a informarte de ¿Por qué Israel está bombardeando Gaza otra vez? en el Club Palestino , ubicado en Av. Kennedy 9351, Las Condes.
One has to remember that Latin/South America has a massive and prosperous Arab demographic, and this can affect Latin America views of the wars in the Mideast.
However, the Arab demographic is not necessarily monolithic.
First: Almost all of the Arabs in Latin/America are Christian. And they do not identify with the Islamic aspect of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
This distance derives from the Mideast history of their Arab ancestors, where there were instances of anti-Christian massacres such as in 1860, which drove many Christians out of Lebanon and Syria, to Latin America.
The slaughter of the Catholic Maronite Christians caused France, recalling its ancient role as protector of Christians in the Ottoman Empire which was established by treaty in 1523 to intervene [in 1860], landing troops in Lebanon to protect the Maronites.
Another source of Christian-Arab flight to Latin America was due to a fear that the Ottoman Empire would draft Christian men and put them in the front ranks of the battle as cannon fodder. So a lot of Christian families left to protect their sons.
Given these historical Muslim-Christian hostilities, when South American Arabs (who would be Christian) support the Palestinian cause, they probably would support the secular Fatah over the Islamic Hamas. They would avoid Islamic sympathies.
The only possible exception to this are the Palestinians in Latin America. (Click Here) to see some Palestinian-Chileans (who would be Christian) support the Intifada. Palestinian Christians in Latin America can be insane in their animus towards Israel. It makes no sense.
Second: It was easier for Christian Arabs to move to the West and assimilate in Latin America than for Muslims. There were links between the West and the Christians in the Holy Land. Such links could provide needed help. No such connections existed for Muslims who were on their own.
Third: Those relatively few Muslims who did immigrate to Latin America often converted to Catholicism or intermarried with local Christians in Latin America. The kids ended up being raised Christian, usually Catholic.
Fourth: Maronite Christians (affiliated with Catholicism), which form a large part of the Arab demographic in Latin America, have been historically hostile to Islam. As already noted above, on more than one occasion, Muslims tried to genocide the Maronite Christians in Lebanon. So there is no love lost between Maronites and Muslims.
Maronites tend to assimilate very well in Latin America, as they consider themselves to be a Western people. They rise to the top of society very fast. They are often neutral in Arab-Israeli struggles, and some of them can be pro-Israel.
Indeed, some of the Maronites see themselves as Phoenicians, not Arabs at all.
At the very least, the Maronites of Latin America have a moderating effect on the opinions of other Arab groups in Latin America.
Fifth: Syrian Arabs in Latin America (usually Eastern Christians) have other concerns, especially after the Syrian Civil War, when the remaining Christians in Syria came under threat of genocide.
Sixth: It is the Palestinian Latins (who are almost always Christian) who are a matter of concern. The Palestinian-Christians of Chile (Chilestinos) being an example.
Chile has the largest community of Palestinians outside the Mideast. However, the are NOT representative of Palestinians as a whole, since Chile’s Palestinians (Palestinos / Chilestinos) are taken, almost exclusively, from the Christian element.
The Palestinian community is to Chile what the Jewish community is to the U.S.
– Gabriel Zalisnek, then president of Chile’s Jewish Federation
Palestinian Christians in Chile tend to be very intelligent, influential, hard working, and rich. But all their virtues disappear when it comes to the issue of Israel. They have a blind spot in that area. They have major outsize influence in Chile which, being a first world country now, has a major influence on Latin America.
Hostility from a poor country would not carry much weight, but from Chile, it can be worrisome. Some Jewish organizations have expressed grave concerns over the Palestinian-Christians in Chile, and their influence on government policy.
Posted on YouTube: July 9, 2020
The Palestinian-Latins and the Leftist governments in Latin America (such as Venezuela) are the issue, but overall the Arab-Latin Americans are not monolithic at all. There is some cause for concern, but not too much to worry about.
The issue is really Islam, and unfortunately, the penetration of Iranian influence, especially through HispanTV, a joint venture of Iran and Leftist Venezuela.
While Arab-Latin Americans may not be thrilled with Israel, some of them remember what the Muslims did to their ancestors — except for the Palestinian Latins (who are, ironically, mostly Christian). As noted, the Palestinian-Chileans are insanely anti-Israel and they have real clout in Chile.
The group holding back the flood of anti-Israel sentiment, however, are very pro-Israel Evangelical Christians in Latin America.
3) Click – for a second time – to turn on: Subtitles/CC(1) Spanish (auto-generated) .
4) Click auto-translate.
5) Choose English – THIS CAN BE TRICKY – I suggest using up and down arrows to chose English, and then press Enter.
This can be very touchy, and you may have to play with it, but it works. Once you get the hang of it, you can turn the option on in a few seconds.
Chile has a large Palestinian community — which will assert its own view — during this war. However, even the Chilean government, which is often anti-Israeli in its official positions, has rebuked the Hamas attack on civilians in Israel this October. It was a strong condemnation.
Nuestra solidaridad está y estará siempre con la víctimas de la violencia, sin distinción. Nos duele la humanidad.
Condenamos sin matiz alguno los brutales atentados, asesinatos y secuestros de Hamas. Nada puede justificarlos ni relativizar su más enérgico rechazo. Condenamos…
SAO PAULO: Living in countries whose presidents have expressed pro-Palestinian views, Palestinian communities in Chile, Brazil and Argentina have expressed disappointment with statements issued by these countries’ governments concerning the fighting between Hamas and Israel.
Most Latin American nations released statements condemning Saturday’s attack on Israel by Hamas from the Gaza Strip.
The exceptions were Venezuela, which demanded that Israel immediately halt the occupation of Palestinian territories, and Bolivia, which said it is following developments with concern and accused the UN of inaction.
In Colombia, the Foreign Ministry released a statement condemning violence against civilians and asking both parties to hold dialogue on a two-state solution.
…
Palestinian-born Nicola Hadwa, a prominent Middle East analyst, told Arab News that Palestinians in Chile feel “betrayed,” adding: “That kind of declaration comes from political leaders who are subordinated to the US and Israel.”
Hadwa, who also worked as a football manager and was the first professional coach of the Palestinian national team in 2002, said: “Every day, the Israelis kill two or three young Palestinians and nobody talks about it in the media. When Palestine reacts, suddenly everybody is concerned.”
Chilean President Gabriel Boric’s administration seems to be coming under pressure from both sides.
However, with a large demographic of Arabs in South America – even if most are Christian – there is some small degree of sympathy for the Palestinian side, particularly among the demographic of Palestinians in Latin America.
Thankfully, this time, the governments are acting rationally in spite of this pressure from pro-Palestinians.
Remember, the Arab demographic in Latin America may be large, but it is NOT monolithic.
