Tiféret Israel Synagogue attack

Tiféret Israel Synagogue attack
Gran Sinagoga Tiféret Israel de Caracas.JPG
The Tiféret Israel Synagogue, target of the attack
LocationCaracas, Venezuela
DateJanuary 31, 2009 (2009-01-31)
TargetTiféret Israel Synagogue
Perpetrator15
Motive2008–2009 Gaza War

The Tiféret Israel Synagogue attack was the profanation of the synagogue, the oldest in Caracas, Venezuela in the night of 31 January 2009, during the shabbat. The attack occurred during the 2008–2009 Gaza War, after Venezuela severed diplomatic relations with Israel and that Israel expelled Venezuelan officials from the country.

Background

Following the onset of the 2009 Israel-Gaza conflict, the Venezuelan government expressed disagreement with Israel's actions. On 5 January, President Chávez accused the United States of poisoning Palestinian president Yasser Arafat in order to destabilize the Middle East.[1] He also described the offensive by Israel as a Palestinian "holocaust".[1] Days later, the Venezuelan foreign ministry called Israel's actions "state terrorism" and announced the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and some of the embassy staff.[1] Following the order of expulsion of the Israeli ambassador, incidents targeting various Jewish institutions occurred in Venezuela.[2] Protests occurred in Caracas with demonstrators throwing shoes at the Israeli Embassy while some sprayed graffiti on the facility.[3] At the Tiféret Israel Synagogue, individuals spray-painted "Property of Islam" on its walls.[2] Later that month, the synagogue was targeted again.[2]

Attack

During the night of 31 January 2009, an armed gang consisting of 15 unidentified men broke into Tiféret Israel Synagogue, the synagogue of the Israelite Association of Venezuela and the oldest synagogue in the Venezuelan capital Caracas and occupied the building for several hours.[4] Security guards were tied up and gagged and the gang destroyed offices and the place and the repository where the holy books were stored; this happened during the Jewish shabbat. They daubed the walls with anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli graffiti that called for Jews to be expelled from the country.[5] They had also stolen a database that listed Jews who lived in Venezuela.[6]

Investigation

In February 2009 the Venezuelan authorities arrested 7 police officers and 4 civilians, with two individuals were associated with the synagogue, for robbery.[7] According to the El Universal, the CICPC's report stated that one of ten arrested defendants, Edgar Alexander Cordero, a bodyguard for a rabbi at the synagogue and a metropolitan police officer, asked the rabbi for a loan which he refused to give. Cordero decided to rob the synagogue of money, which he believed was locked in its safes.[8] According to Interior Minister Tarek El Aissami, anti-semitic vandalism had merely been a tactic, "First, to weaken the investigation, and second, to direct the blame toward the national government."[9][10]

Reactions

Nicolás Maduro, who was the acting Foreign Minister at the time, condemned the act as a "criminal act of vandalism". The Information Minister Jesse Chacón also condemned the attack; he denied that there was any connection with the government.[11]

US politicians called on President Hugo Chávez to protect the country's Jewish population following the event. Sixteen Democrats and Republicans wrote a letter demanding an "end to the intimidation and harassment of the Jewish community."[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Venezuela expels Israeli ambassador". Al Jazeera. 7 January 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Romero, Simon (31 January 2009). "Synagogue in Venezuela Vandalized in Break-In". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  3. ^ Jewish Center attacked in Venezuela; no injuries, By CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER, AP [1]
  4. ^ BBC, 1 February 2009, Synagogue desecrated in Venezuela
  5. ^ Noticias24.com Archived 17 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Bomb damages Caracas synagogue – JTA – Jewish & Israel News". Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  7. ^ "Jewish center attacked in Venezuela". UPI. 27 February 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  8. ^ "Police woman led attack against synagogue in Caracas". El Universal (Caracas). 9 February 2009. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  9. ^ "Crónica AP: "Ex escolta de rabino, sospechoso del ataque a la sinagoga"". Noticias24.com. 9 February 2009. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  10. ^ "Presentó los resultados de la investigación de los ataques a la Sinagoga". Noticias24.com. 9 February 2009. Archived from the original on 31 August 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  11. ^ a b US politicians call on Chávez to protect Venezuela's Jews The Guardian. 3 February 2009

This page was last updated at 2021-07-15 05:52 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari