⚫️ Miércoles 11 de Octubre 2023 en Santiago de Chile.
Manifestación frente a La Moneda en apoyo al Pueblo Palestino y a la Ciudad de Gaza. pic.twitter.com/8qMxHKym16
— U n Té p a r a P l a t ó n🏴 🚩⛈️❄☃️ (@EnCamino13) October 12, 2023
Source: Why Chile’s Response to the Israel-Hamas War Stands Out – Foreign Policy October 13, 2023
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.
Actividad abierta a todo público.
¡No faltes!#savegaza #savepalestine #palestina #libre pic.twitter.com/Y0YFJj2Gqe
— Comunidad Palestina de Chile (@ComPalestinaCL) October 11, 2023
As this video of CLUB PALESTINO (social club( shows, the Palestinians (nicknamed: The Chilestinos) are a political force to be reckoned with.
Posted on YouTube: 2023
So the Chilean government did support Israel … officially, but do so gingerly.
Source: DiarioUChile (University of Chile Daily) – October 7, 2023
Gobierno de Chile condena ataque de Hamás y expresa solidaridad con el pueblo Israel
Government of Chile condemns Hamas attack and expresses solidarity with the Israeli people (translated by Google)