Hannukah (Janucá) lighting in front of the Moneda (Chilean Presidential Palace)
Posted on YouTube: December 27, 2024
As the readers of this site have noticed, there are a lot of posts on this site about Chile. There is a reason for this.
Chile is very unique in Latin America.
A) Chile is considered a borderline First World Country in Latin America.
B) It is an economic powerhouse.
C) It has a well respected formidable navy.
D) Except for the Pinochet/Allende area, Chile has a history of stable democracy.
E) CHILE HAS A MASSIVE PALESITINIAN POPULATION (Chilestinos), about 500,000, who are elite.
So in many ways, it is Chile where the present public relations battles are fought in Latin America.
This site has shown you what Arab-Latinos often think.
Now, let’s take a look at what the Jews of Chile think.
The chief concern of Chile’s Jewish community is the Palestinian-Chilean (Chilestino) community.
Unknown to most Westerners is that Chile has the largest amount of Palestinians outside the Mideast. They are half a million in number, but unexpectedly, almost all are Christian: Eastern Christian or Catholic. Very few are Muslim.
SIDE NOTE:
Though most Palestinians are Muslim, the former rulers of the Holy Land, the Ottoman empire, persecuted Christians. Hence, when the Palestinians started moving to Chile in the 19th century, it was the Christians who left the Holy Land, while the Muslim Palestinians remained. Christian Arabs assimilated well into Chile, and they rose rapidly. Soon they were inviting other Christian Palestinians to come to Chile.
THE RESULT IS: ALMOST ALL PALESTINIANS IN CHILE ARE CHRISTIAN.
Yet, though the Chilestinos are Christians, they still have very strong anti-Israel sympathies.
Unlike America, where AIPAC has a powerful influence, in Chile, the Jewish community is relatively weak in numbers – estimates range from 16,000 to 20,000 Jews – and their political clout is minor compared to the Palestinian-Chilean (Chilestino) community. The Chilestinos outnumber the Jews by about 30 to 1.
Moreover, these Chilestinos are fantastically prosperous in Chile, so they punch will above their weight. They are overrepresented in the halls of power in Chile. There is not much of a brake on public anti-Israel sentiment.
So let’s look at what the Jewish community is Chile is up against.
A) A Palestinian-Chilean (Chilestino) community which outnumbers the Chilean Jews about 30 to 1.
B) These Chilestinos are very prosperous, and well-educated. So the usual Jewish social advantage in these areas does not apply in Chile.
C) The Chilestinos are very politically connected.
D) Because most Chilestinto are Christian, they otherwise blend into Chilean society.
Hence, the Jewish community in Chile is worried. (Click Here).
The Jews of Chile have been worried about local antisemitism for some time, but the present Gazan War – with its uptick in worldwide antisemitism – has made Chile’s Jews even more nervous. The significant protests against Israel by the Palestinian community in Chile have not helped.
The present Chilean government – at the time of this post – under President Gabriel Boric is hostile to Israel, and has joined in the genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice. This would be unthinkable in the United States.
Posted on YouTube: September 14, 2024
This is the opposite of America’s congress which has condemned the case against Israel.
Source: US House votes to sanction International Criminal Court over Israel
Reuters
Patricia Zengerle
January 10, 2025WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Thursday to sanction the International Criminal Court in protest at its arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
The vote was 243 to 140 in favor of the “Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act,” which would sanction any foreigner who investigates, arrests, detains or prosecutes U.S. citizens or those of an allied country, including Israel, who are not members of the court.
Chile has pulled its ambassador from Israel.
In the past, the Israeli government has sharply criticized the Chilean government.
Posted on YouTube: December 21, 2021
The Israeli news show (i24News) – in the video above – has rightly centered the problem on leftist ideology.
Were this Peru or Bolivia, no one would really care.
But Chile is fundamentally a Western nation, with a strong democratic tradition, religious tolerance, and a strong economy. The Chilean government is acting out of character for a Western nation.
Sadly, the Palestinian community (Chilestino) is so powerful that even right wing Chilean politicians have had to yield to it. Sebastian Pinera was a Chilean right-winger.
Source: Chile supports Palestine’s right to independence
Middle East Monitor
May 11, 2018Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has expressed his support for efforts to establish a “free, independent, sovereign state” during a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
“Palestine has the right and the support of Chile to be a free, independent, sovereign and autonomous country, and the Palestinian people have the right to self-determination,” he said.
This has made things very dicey for Jewish-Chileans. As noted, this is not a recent development for Jewish-Chileans – as this five year old video shows, below – but it has gotton worse.
Posted on YouTube: July 9, 2020
So what is the prognosis?
Historically, the government of Chile has NOT been officially antisemitic. The government has shown great tolerance for Jews and Protestants.
In 1940, during World War 2, Chile took in Jewish refugees, when almost no one else in the world would. The son of one of those refugees became world famous. Mario Kreutzberger, better known as Don Francisco.
Posted on YouTube: August 26, 2015
So there are times when Chile has been generous to Jews. But tolerance for the Jewish religion in Chile does NOT translate into support for Zionism.
In 1947, the government of Chile wanted to vote, at the UN, for the Partition of Palestine in order to create a Jewish state. However, the Palestinian community interfered to demand that the Chilean government not approve of a Jewish state. So, at the last moment, the Chile delegation to the UN was told to abstain.
One member of the Chilean delegation resigned in protest over this.
Source:Chile Virtual History Tour
Jewish Virtual LibraryIn spite of his past record of goodwill toward Jewish aspirations, as president Videla gave in to the internal pressure of the Arab community (100,000 citizens of Arab descent lived in Chile at that time and were known for their financial and political influence) and instructed his delegation to the UN General Assembly to abstain from voting on the resolution to partition Palestine in 1947. Senator Humberto Alvarez, second-ranking member of this delegation, resigned in protest against that decision.
What is clear is that for eight decades, the Palestinian community in Chile, has had a near total lock on Chile’s foreign policies concerning the Mideast. This will probably not change any time soon.
Under Chile’s present leadership, the government’s anti-Zionist policies border on official antisemitism. Moreover, the Palestinian (Chilestino) Community has made a lot of allies, and they regularly engage in massive pro-Palestinian protests.
Posted on YouTube: October 10, 2024
Protests like that have to be troubling to the Chilean Jewish Community
A leftist mayor of the city of Recoleta in Chile, Daniel Jadue, the grandson of Palestinian immigrants to Chile, and a friend of President Boric, has a history of antisemitic comments.
Source: Chilean mayor under fire for saying being Jewish is a ‘supremacist conception’
Times of Israel
Jackie Hajdenberg
January 5, 2024Daniel Jadue, the mayor of Recoleta, outside of the capital of Santiago, made the comments last week while attending an event centered on Chilean journalist Pablo Jofré Leal’s book, “Zionism: The Ideology That Exterminates.” His comments were recorded on video, which he shared on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.
“Being Jewish starts from a conception that has to do with the supremacist conception of being part of a chosen people, so, if you are already part of a chosen people you do not believe in the equality of all human beings before anything, right?” he said. “Well, here we are faced with an ideology that I believe is the most Nazi thing I have seen in my life.”
There is no call to hatred or violence. Chileans are NOT Nazis, but the Chilean president, Gabriel Boric, has insulted the Jewish community the past – by ingraciously commenting on a gift from the Jewish community, with criticism of Israeli policy.
Source: Faced with the new president Boric, Chilean Jews in expectation
https://k-larevue.com/
Ariel Bohorodzaner
March 31, 2022This March 11, a new president took office in Chile. His name is Gabriel Boric. During the campaign, an old tweet of his reemerged : “The Jewish community of Chile sends me a small jar of honey for the Jewish New Year, reaffirming their commitment to “a more inclusive, supportive and respectful society. I appreciate the gesture but they could start by asking Israel to return the illegally occupied Palestinian territories.
This is the offending tweet below:
La Comunidad Judía en Chile me envía un tarrito de miel por el año nuevo judio, reafirmando su compromiso cn "una sociedad más inclusiva, solidaria y respetuosa". Agradezco el gesto pero podrían partir por pedirle a Israel que devuelva el territorio palestino ilegalmente ocupado. pic.twitter.com/rtb1dt8QRP
— Gabriel Boric Font (@GabrielBoric) October 2, 2019
The Jewish community felt insulted.
There is a small Evangelical Community in Chile which supports Israel, but they have nowhere near the clout of the Chilestinos.
So Chilean Jews are not in immediate physical danger, but if the Chilean government keeps up its present policies and withering criticisms, the Jews of Chile will feel unwelcome, pack up their bags, and leave. Some of them already have.
