Chile

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.

Report on Chile’s Palestinian Population During War

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Report on Chile’s Palestinian Population During War


Posted on YouTube: November 7, 2023

Bolivia has cut off ties with Israel, while Colombia and Chile have recalled ambassadors. Pro-Palestinianism is MUCH stronger in Latin America than in the USA.

Source: Reuters: In Chile, a Palestinian diaspora makes its voice heard on Gaza
by Alexander Villegas

SANTIAGO, Nov 7 (Reuters) – Chile’s Palestinian community, the largest outside the Middle East, is a strong force in the Andean nation, involved in local politics, culture and soccer. Now it’s making Chile one of the loudest regional voices criticizing Israel over its military action in Gaza.

Chile’s President Gabriel Boric, a moderate figure in the Latin American left, recalled the country’s ambassador in Tel Aviv last week and said Israel was not abiding by international law.

On a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Boric added that the Israeli military operation “at this stage acts as a collective punishment to the civilian population in Gaza.” He brought up the issue with President Joe Biden during a bilateral meeting last Thursday in Washington.

(Read more)

The article does not go into full depth that the vast majority of Palestinians in Chile are Christians, who fled Ottoman Islamic rule. They seem to have forgotten that aspect of their ancestor’s lives and identity with a halcyon past of religious tolerance in the Holy Land that never existed.

Many of these Palestinian Chileans (Chilestinos) are multi-generational Chilean and intermarried.

But it does note their influence. Chile did pull its ambassador out of Israel.

While Europe and the USA are strongly in favor of Israel, Latin America is mixed.

Again, Who Is Xavier Abu Eid?

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Again, Who Is Xavier Abu Eid?

Google translation:

“War crimes are committed and Hamas is not there… Today Palestinians cannot get to work because of the Israeli blockades… It cannot be pointed out that any attack by civilians can be justified in any way” denounced the political scientist from the West Bank. Chilean Palestinian Xavier Abu Aid (tv12 telemundo)

It is Xavier Abu Eid (or Aid).

He has been around since forever, but I have not read about him for years. He is a Chilean spokesman for the PLO.

Xavier Abu Eid. Who is Xavier Abu Eid?

1) He is Chilean

2) He is a political scientist, and advisor to the PLO, as well as one of their chief spokesmen.

3) He went to Universidad Diego Portales (Diego Portales University) in Chile.

4) He has media clout in Latin America, though he is unknown in the USA.

5) Being Chilean, he is almost certainly Christian.

6) He writes for Al-Damir, a Palestinian-Chilean Magazine, run by the Fundación Belen (Bethlehem Foundation) – English language link, which also exhalts Arab-Chileans in Chilean Life. It claims to have a Christian emphasis, but some have suspected it of working with Hamas.

The name Xavier Abu Eid is almost certainly a pen name, as Xavier is a Catholic name while Abu Eid is probably Islamic.

It is an appeal to Latin Americans.

Palestinian Soccer Team in Chile Still Grips Imagination

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Palestinian Soccer Team in Chile Still Grips Imagination


Posted on YouTube: May 2023
(You have to watch it on YouTube)

Another fascinating video from Chile about the soccer (futbol) team, CD Palestino. It has been an international sensation.

The fans of CD Palestino (Palestinian Sports Club) affectionately call themselves Baisanos because their ancestors, who came to Chile 100 years ago called themselves countrymen, which is Spanish is paisano, only, being Arab in origin, they mispronounced the p as B, hence Baisanos.

At one time, the team members were required to be of Palestinian origins, but that is no longer required.

The fan base include a lot of non-Arab aficionados.

The video (which you have to click to watch on YouTube itself) shows that the team in Chile has become a sort of unofficial national team for the Palestinians in the Mideast. But there are issues. The Chilean team sponsors gender equality which does not go over so well in the repressed Islamic region.

Ethnic Groups Change the Narrative

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Ethnic Groups Change the Narrative

El Cid! Hero of Spain, against the Islamic Moors.

The central drama of Spanish and Portuguese history is the Reconquista. The liberation of Spain and Portugal from Muslim tyranny. In the case of Spain, it took 781 years (from 711 to 1492AD).

One would think that such a long struggle would inoculate Latin culture against any sympathies for an Arab cause. And, in the general population, with Spanish and Portuguese ancestry, that might be the case.

However, Arabs have risen to places of prominence in Latin America. And while Jews are nowhere near as prominent as they are in the United States, they still have clout (especially in Argentina).

Much like the United States, Latin America was a land of immigrants. However, unlike the United States, Latin America tended to get more Spanish, Italian, French, and Arab immigrants by percentages than the United States. Latin America veered towards South European and Mediterranean stocks. Hence, it remained heavily Catholic.

The one exception were large amounts of Germans, who – contrary to popular misperceptions – the majority of whom were NOT nazis. Outlier groups like occasional Irish and/or British went to Latin America.

Only recently, historically, have Protestants/Evangelicals made themselves felt in Latin America, chiefly in Brazil and Chile.

But Latin America was culturally homogenous for much of that time.

However, very prosperous Arabs and Jewish groups(though small) are swaying the discussion.

All of this is coming into play during this Gaza War.

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