Iran’s HispanTV Is Ratcheting Up Antisemitism in Latin America

Iran’s HispanTV Is Ratcheting Up Antisemitism in Latin America

Source: HispanTV: The Iranian Regime’s Long Arm of Hate in Latin America
ADL
July 2024

The top two channels IRIB [the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting] uses for promoting anti-Jewish hate globally are the English-language PressTV, established in 2007, and its Spanish-language twin HispanTV, established in 2011. A joint ADL and Center for Countering Digital Hate report issued in April 2023, titled “State Hate: How Iran’s Press TV Uses Social Media to Promote Anti-Jewish Hatred,” exposed PressTV as a “foreign state hate operation” that targets “Jewish people with antisemitic tropes,” and attacks “charities, schools, journalists, academics, and individuals by promoting the conspiracy that they are part of a coordinated ‘Zionist movement.’”

To download the whole ADL report: (click here).

We here at Latin Arabia have noted the pernicious influence of HispanTV on South American culture for over a decade, now. Do a search for HispanTV on our site – we didn’t always tag it.

No doubt, HispanTV strikes a chord with some Arab-Latins.

A primer post, here on Latin Arabia, from 2013, deals with this insidious network, and can be found here.

This is an even better post.

HispanTV (and its English equivalent, PressTV) have faced bans in Europe.

But HispanTV is powerful and well known in Latin America. A Major Chilean Politician: Daniel Jadue (of Christian Palestinian ancestry) – a former presidential candidate – has had a series on HispanTV.


Posted on YouTube: June 24, 2021
From Turkish TV

Daniel Jadue’s television series (below):


The playlist was posted on YouTube: Around 2024
On HispanTV
(It can be auto-translated)

HispanTV has been thrown off of many platforms, but seems to always re-emerge.

The thing here is not to panic.

In countries where the major Arab demographic is Maronite Lebanese (such as Brazil), the political effects of the Arab communities can be neutral. Maronite Lebanese were historically hostile to Islam. Some were even friendly to Zionism.

Maronites tend to be Western in outlook, and they have assimilated easier and more successfully than other Arabs. Where the Maronite demographic is large among Arab communities, they will dampen anti-Zionism.

But in countries with large and influential Palestinian communities (such as Chile), all havoc can break loose.

The Palestinians are highly successful in Chile, and have out-sized influenced. They have distorted Chile’s foreign policy. Even Chile’s otherwise conservative politicians pander to them.

This is the audience that HispanTV would attract. While such an audience is indeed worrisome, it also has to be remembered that Evangelical Christianity is growing by leaps and bounds in Latin America.

HispanTV is annoying, but it will be drowned out by Christianity.

It’s effects on politics have to be watched though.

The Present Crisis

The Present Crisis

When I started this blog, about twelve years ago, it was more of a curiosity to me. I just wanted to explore the subcultural impact of Arabs in Latin America. I wanted to show the world the food, the music, and the dance that Arabs had brought to Latin culture.

AND IT WAS IMPRESSIVE!

However, there were times that events intruded into the exploration of the subculture. The continuing wars in Gaza always left a mark. But the present Gaza War is of an altogether different character.

Unlike much of the world, and much of the internet, my own sympathies tend to lie with Israel, but I am an American.

Latin America has tens of millions of citizens of Arab ancestry, and while almost all of those Arab-Latins are Christians, some have a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel view. Chile, for example, has a massive Palestinian population which is very politically powerful, very hostile to Israel, and very influential. Oddly, these Chilean Palestinians are 99% Christian, yet sympathetic to the Islamic cause of Palestine in the Mideast.

To be sure, I am NOT putting down Latin-Arabs, most of whom are nice, but the media focuses on the loud protestors. And the Christians in Latin America forget that their ancestors often left the Mideast due to Muslim persecutions against Christians.

Thankfully, as a rule, Latins of Lebanese Maronite Christian ancestry do remember the predations of Islam; and they tend to avoid an anti-Israel sentiment. They can be a moderating force among other Latin-Arabs.

One has to remember that the pro-Palestinian elements may be loud and organized, but in Latin America there is a growing base of Evangelical Christians who are very pro-Israel. These will not make the headlines … but they vote and politicians have to take that bloc into account.


Posted on YouTube: November 13, 2023
Israel Receives Massive Support from Christians
(Can be auto-translated)

And what you have to also remember is that the general media often lies to you.

I am not saying Israel is perfect. WHAT NATION IS?!

But Hamas is a dark, vicious, terror group.

For example: This is floating on Twitter (X):

Some students in Argentina are pro-Palestinian. So what?!

The tweet does not tell the whole story concerning Argentina.

The President of Argentina, Javier Milei, is very pro-Israel, but the tweet does not mention that. Neither does the tweet mention that a large part of Argentina’s elite is Jewish.

Unlike the rest of Latin America, Argentina had a massive wave of Jewish immigration. It has greatly affected their culture.

So a few pro-Palestinian students in Buenos Aires are insignificant.

Likewise, Brazil’s Presicent Lula may be against Israel, but he knows his position is weak. He got elected by a questionable vote. His opponent was Jair Bolsonaro, a strong pro-Israel supporter. Massive sections of Brazil are Christian-Zionist.

Just remember that, even in Latin America, Israel has its supporters.

So media reports from South America may be out of sync with the underlying public opinion. While you may see supporters for Gaza in South America on the media, remember that these reports may be biased.

Jews in Latin America Feel Unsafe

Jews in Latin America Feel Unsafe

As noted, Latin America has an enormous population of Arab descent. Many of these Arab-Latins are NOT taking the news from Gaza that well, particularly in Chile where there is a large properous elite of Christian-Palestinian descent, the Chilestinos.


Posted on YouTube: March 25, 2024

The backlash is exacerbating antisemitism in Latin America. It is gathering attention.

Source: To fight antisemitism in Latin America, one must recognize it – opinion
Jerusalem Post
Joseph Bouchard, Garion Frankel
April 9, 2024

Latin America has long nurtured an antisemitic underbelly that has drawn scant international media attention, even after the October 7 attacks. Latin America is home to approximately 500,000 Jews, including nearly 200,000 in Argentina alone. In Brazil, antisemitic attacks have risen by nearly 1,000% since October 7.

In Peru, right-wing extremists targeted a prominent Peruvian Jewish journalist by screaming antisemitic chants outside his home, including showing posters of rats holding bags of money.

In Nicaragua, Jewish cemeteries have been vandalized and desecrated. Vicente Fox, Mexico’s former president, accused presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum – who has Jewish parents – of being “a Jew and foreigner at the same time.”

In the past, such antisemitism has moved from words to murder.

Shortly after Israel began its defense, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, and Chile recalled their ambassadors from the region. Bolivia cut off diplomatic relations with Israel, accusing the nation of crimes against humanity.

Of course, this has to stop. Individual Jews should NOT feel threatened.

Chile’s Palestinians Are Fighting Mad

Chile’s Palestinians Are Fighting Mad


Posted on YouTube: November, 2023

Source: ‘Chilestinian’ resistance: how Chile became home to half a million Palestinians
The Week
By Rebekah Evans, THE WEEK, UK
November 20, 2023

Chile has become one of the “loudest regional voices” in Latin America condemning Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, said NBC.

“Roots run deep” in Chile for the Palestinian community, with immigration to the nation beginning in the late 19th century, “when Christians fled the faltering Ottoman Empire”, the broadcaster explained.

Despite most Chileans with Palestinian heritage identifying as Christian, this in “no way diminishes the national feeling” of support for the majority-Muslim state, the Morning Star said.

Support for Palestinians has extended outside of Chilean politics, seeping into other influential spheres in the South American nation.

1) There are roughly 500,000 Chileans of Palestinians descent, called Chilestinos in Spanish (Chilestinians in English).

2) They shape the opinion of Chile’s national media.

3) They have influenced the Chilean government to recall its ambassador from Israel.

4) With Chile’s population at 19.5 million, the Palestinians are a little under 3% of Chile’s total population, however they are over half of the Arab population in Chile, so they set the tone for the Arab community … unlike in many other Latin countries where the Arab demographic is titled towards moderate Lebanese Maronites (Catholics).

5) Though the Chilestinians are Christian in the vast majority – about 99% Christian – that does not stop them from identifying with the Palestinian cause, which is heavily Muslim influenced — even though their ancestors fled Palestine to Chile in order to escape the persecution of Christians under the Muslim Ottomam Turks.

6) Many are third- and fourth-generation Chilean, but have risen to be elites.

7) Elites does not capture the full sense of their power. One family, the Yarur family, were industrialists that once produced 60 per cent of Chile’s textiles.

8) They have an elite social club in the capital – see video below.


Posted for YouTube: June 19, 2020

9) They were esconced in a major Santiago business district, the Patronato.


Posted on YouTube: 2013

And now, having reached the top, they pressure the government.

Source: ‘Chilestinian’ resistance: how Chile became home to half a million Palestinians
The Week
By Rebekah Evans, THE WEEK, UK
November 20, 2023

[F]or Chilean Palestinians, the fight will not stop until the people of Palestine are liberated. The community is “clamoring” for a ceasefire, said NBC, holding rallies and pushing for boycotts, as the conflict continues.

They are fighting mad as this tweet (below) from The Palestinian Community of Chile shows:

Roughly translated: 60% of the housing in the Gaza Strip is destroyed.

The power of the Chilestinos resembles the power of the Jewish community in America, as the Jerusalem Post has noted.

Source: Police in Chile guard Jews after anti-Semitic attacks
By Gil Stern, Stern Shefler
August 18, 2010
Jerusalem Post

Public opinion in Chile is often influenced by the country’s politically powerful 200,000 Palestinian immigrants and their descendents.

“The Palestinian community is to Chile what the Jewish community is to the US,” [The president of Chile’s Jewish community, Gabriel] Zaliasnik explained.

[My Note: The Palestinians are closer to 500,000 in number]

This is dramatic to watch.

Chiles is a first world country, but the Chilestino demographic has hijacked the nation’s government so that Chile acts in contradiction to its otherwise first world interests in this matter. Most first world countries support Israel, whether strongly or lukewarmly; but few support Palestine.

The effect is compounded in every aspect of the culture in Chile, which for example has a professional soccer team called Palestino.


Posted on YouTube: Mar 2, 2015

The documentary above (this is a teaser) is Cuatro Colores (Four Colors), which is named after the the four colors of the Palestinian flag [red, green, black, white], and the four colors of the professional soccer team, Palestino, in Santiago Chile.

The Chilestinos have an outsized influence on Chile’s culture, commerce, industry, banking, sports, and politics. They have held Chile’s foreign policy hostage for decades. In many ways, they have Palestinianized Chile.


1 January 2024 – Edited: cleaned things up and added more info.

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