NOTE: This post was originally made on June 7, 2013. I have updated the information, and reset the date, because this is critical information that needs to be re-examined.
I have reported before on the radicalization of Chile’s Palestinian Population.
Their statistics:
1) The Palestinians in Chile number roughly 500,000.
2) They constitute the largest number of Palestinians outside the Mideast.
3) More Palestinian Christians are in Chile than in the Mideast.
4) The Palestinians in Chile are roughly 99% CHRISTIAN.
5) Many have ancestors who arrived in South America before 1930, before Israel; so they can’t blame all of their predicament on Israel.
6) They are often very rich, elite in Chile; so they can’t complain that their lives are worse off.
You would think such a group of Christians would not espouse the Islamicized cause of Palestinian nationalism; but you would be wrong. In 1947, though the government of Chile was initially predisposed to vote for the partition of Palestine in the UN vote, creating a Jewish state; but the Palestinians in Chile were so powerful, even at that early date, that they forced the government of Chile to abstain. One Chilean government official resigned in protest.
Today, the Palestinians in Chile are very radicalized against Israel.
2013 UGEP webpage – No longer online
Take a look at the 2013 home page for the website for the Union General de Estudiantes Palestinos (UGEP) [General Union of Palestinian Students]. It is no longer online, but the UGEP has not disappeared in Chile. The UGEP still runs a prominent Facebook Page; and they work with other anti-Israel groups in Chile.
But, notice the prominent placement given the Dome of the Rock, a Muslim Shrine, on their homepage banner for the 2013 Website.
Yet, almost all these Chilean students are Christians. Their ancestors came from Bethlehem, Beit Sahour, and Beit Jala … all of which were heavily Christian when their ancestors left.
Why didn’t a picture of a church figure prominently in their banner image? I know the Dome of the Rock is an impressive site which defines the image of Jerusalem; but these Palestinian-Chileans are primarily Christian.
When you study the activities of Christian-Palestinian-Chileans, they will often be using Islamic imagery. It is scary.
Yo Soy Palestino (I am Palestinian) – April 10, 2016 – by Federación Palestina de Chile.
The music in the background is the Palestinian national anthem: Biladi
The most prominent of the Palestinian-Chilean groups is the Federación Palestina de Chile (Palestine Federation of Chile). They run charities, education programs – see video to the side, where the educate the children – and they have massive political clout.
The radicalization of Chile’s Palestinians is a growing phenomenom in the West. Yet, the United States and Israel, while complaining, are doing very little to counter this. A big mistake.
Chile’s Palestinians are the vanguard of anti-Israel propaganda in South America. Because Chile’s Palestinians are so rich, they have clout in a country which is South America’s rising economic star. They have the power to change a lot of public opinion in the Latin world.
Latin America is now becoming an economic powerhouse. It can no longer be ignored. Something has to be done to counter the strident anti-Israeli bias of Palestinian-Chileans. Now is the time to deal with this.
This phenomenom seems to be growing. Websites groups may come and go, but the the Federación Palestina de Chile seems to be the central organizing agency, now. It has massive political clout, and merits watching.
Federación Palestina de Chile – YouTube – Lots of videos, often with prominent people.
Federación Palestina de Chile – Website – Their blog/newssite.
June 7, 2013 – Date of original post, before update.
November 23, 2017 – Edited, updated, and corrected an error.
November 23, 2017 – Removed Beit Jala video (Click Here), and installed a video by Federación Palestina de Chile. (2016)
September 1, 2020 – Edited, updated, and modified for new layout.
June 12, 2024 – Edited. Had to remove a video.