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World

Venezuela’s Dispossessed

Half of Venezuela’s Jewish community fled under Hugo Chávez, who died this week. Will the other half follow?

By Matthew Fishbane|January 23, 2012 7:00 AM|29comments
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Images of graffiti on the walls of the administrative section of the Mariperez synagogue, part of the exhibit about the January 31, 2009, profanation.

Images of graffiti on the walls of the administrative section of the Mariperez synagogue, part of the exhibit about the Jan. 31, 2009, profanation.

The superstition had some currency. Ostfeld and his CAIV comrades, who wanted a meeting at the presidential palace to discuss their changing situation, decided to exploit this. “[CAIV President] Salomón Cohen Botbol had someone close to the president bring a message to a friend of the president,” Ostfeld recounted to me. “The message was this: ‘Look, I am Cohen,’ and it explained ‘Cohen,’ the cohanim, priests, and that he who damns Israel gets the damnation returned on him. ‘And so I’m expecting something bad to happen to the president and Venezuela. And since I’m Venezuelan, I’m wondering what it is that can be awaiting me. Because it is shown that he who damns Israel gets the damnation back. It is written.’” According to Ostfeld, the friend told this all to the president, who not long after asked for a meeting with the community, with a specific request that they bring a rabbi—other than Brenner, who for his public political stances was persona non grata in the palace.

In a typically odd bit of Chávezian politics, the minister for foreign affairs, Maduro, had been assigned the Jewish portfolio after having expelled the Israeli ambassador over Operation Cast Lead. Botbol had complained about this arrangement, but Ostfeld decided that it would be best to work in the system, and he invited Maduro to travel with him to Miraflores. Chávez was a gracious host, according to Ostfeld. He offered gifts of honey to each visitor. He heard the three grievances the representatives of the CAIV wanted to bring to him, about anti-Semitism, personal security, and relations with Israel.

“We were there about an hour and a half,” Ostfeld recalled in his office, as he showed me photos from the day: Chávez posed with the elders of Caracas’ Jewish community and wearing his trademark flag-colored warm-up jacket, looking much shorter than Ostfeld and the other Ashkenazi immigrants. “After I presented our case, he thanked us and said, ‘Look, the only thing I ask is that when I broke relations with Israel, I said some damning things, and I regret that.’ He had said his damning words three times, and he knew he’d done something wrong. And so he came up to the rabbi and said, ‘Rabbi, please, give me your blessing.’ ” So then in the ornate 19th-century confines of a room in the seat of power in central Caracas, Rabbi Isaac Cohen, of the Sefardic Asociación Israelita, pronounced a general blessing in Hebrew. “Chávez couldn’t have understood anything,” Ostfeld said, but the leader seemed pleased. “The rabbi hadn’t blessed Chávez by name. He had blessed the Venezuelan people.”

A few months later, Ostfeld noted mischievously, Chávez announced that he had had a baseball-sized tumor removed in Cuba. Then the president declared that Venezuelan socialism’s motto was to be changed, after his surgery, from “Death or Victory” to “Viviremos y Venceremos”—“Life and Victory.”

***

At the CAIV’s “Information and Analysis Office,” three women spend their work days following the Twitter feeds of declared Venezuelan Hezbollah sympathizers and members of “Yihad Latinoamericano.” Their tasks include culling, highlighting, and translating anti-Semitic blurbs from the Venezuelan press to file weekly reports with the Anti-Defamation League, and thus help defend against further outbreaks of anti-Semitism. One Twitter user they were watching, Hindu Anderi, had called for an anti-Zionist demonstration at the Norwegian embassy in Caracas, following the massacre on Utoya. Anderi organized her activities on a blog with contact information, and so I arranged to meet her at the Lido shopping center below the embassy, to get a better sense of the nature of her complaints against the Jews and Israel. She had also been listed in the Anti-Defamation League’s thick portfolio cataloguing anti-Semitism under Chávez, in this case as a host on a show for state-run Radio Nacionál de Venezuela, in which she had described an “extermination and ethnic cleansing plan undertaken by Israel.”

The day before our meeting, I had wandered in the renovated, vibrant downtown, testing a claim Isaac had made, that the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, along with some other lurid Nazi tales such as Mein Kampf, were easily obtainable in cheap Spanish-language editions at the popular book stalls directly across from Miraflores, the presidential palace. Isaac was right. I bought Los Peligros Judío-Masónicos: Los Protocolos de los Sabios de Sion—after some playful bargaining, for less than a third of the asking price of 35 Bolivares. In May, on the Venezuelan National Radio program La Noticia Final, host Cristina González had praised quotes from the book, prompting press releases from the CAIV, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and the ADL. Anderi had worked with González, who would not speak to me, so I brought the book to our meeting.

Anderi, whose face was heavily made up in gaudy greens and reds, was of Lebanese descent, born in Venezuela. Her protest against the Norwegian embassy was a bust: Not a soul bothered to show on that Saturday morning. So, we sat in the mall café and I asked her how she’d developed such a passion for politics that seemed ajeno, foreign or remote, to Venezuelan life. Norway? Israel? Palestine? Wasn’t there enough injustice, violence, and inequality here? “This is about humanity,” Anderi said to me. “Justice is justice. I can’t make choices about what to support. If I see assassins”—which is how she viewed Israelis, she said—“I can’t stand by and let them get away with it.” She then said, “You’re Jewish, aren’t you?” and without waiting for an answer, added, “I thought so.” And then she asked me what I was after, and our conversation broke down, and she was gone.

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Matthew Fishbane is a senior editor at Tablet Magazine. His Twitter feed is @mattnycs.
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  • gina

    Matthew Fishbane Amazing article,
    I lived there everything you say is true.

  • jacob arnon

    Jews in Spanish speaking countries have a long history of being held in contempt when not outright put in danger.

    It seems that Jews tend to see their past in a country from which they were expelled as “golden.” Hence the Yiddish song “Roumania, Roumania.”

  • Joshua Pines

    Great article. I’ve know many from the community over the years and it jibes entirely with their stories.

    One minor semi-correction. Aventura is in fact a separate city now, not merely a neighborhood. This is likely due in part to Venezuelan Jewish immigration, which has played a large role in its growth to 36k+ residents, driving its incorporation in 1995.

  • K. M. McDonald

    How prescient the publication of the works – The Prague Cemetery by U. Eco and A Lethal Obsession by R. W. Wistrich the last few years. The institutionalization of anti-Semitism, subtle yet profoundly dangerous, just persists. Now the latest large-scale appearance of subtle, yet institutionalized anti-Semitism in Venezuela under Chavez; deeply disturbing and saddening.

  • Verificationist

    Tremendous piece. Fiction’s level of texture and depth, except it’s all too true. I would have loved to hear from someone in the government, someone to speak for and give insight to the other side, even if it would have been nothibg more than a fatuous denial of Matthew’s claims. But overall, tremendous work, and kudos to Tablet for investing in journalism of this length, depth, and significance.

  • Eva Josko de Gueron

    A excellent and moving account.

    My main critique, apart from some minor errors, is that it conveys the impression that all Venezuelan Jews are wealthy — which is not the case — and that if fails to reflect the enormous, and often demeaning, effort of immigrants — Jewish and otherwise — to achieve middle class status.

    I might add that, from the very beginning, the government´s message to the middle class was “if you don´t like this, leave”, read “give us free rein”, like in Cuba. Most resisted but as things got worse, many that could, sought other alternatives; it got harder for people like me to persuade or even urge others to stay on.

    There is reason to realistically hope that things will change and that the Jewish community will not only survive but be vibrant again. Ojala!

    Be that as it may, the article and Tablet deserve kudos.

  • Matthew Fishbane

    Eva Josko de Gueron is right to remind readers of the economic diversity of Venezuelan Jewish life, which runs from one of the richest men in the country to welfare recipients and everything in between. (Hebraica club dues were charged on a sliding scale according to ability to pay.) It is precisely this diversity that is a casualty of the new Venezuela — as she points out: those who can leave, do.

    Joshua Pines is also correct about Aventura, and I thank him for the precision, though being in Aventura does not feel separate to “greater Miami,” and many Venezuelans said they had moved or were moving to Miami, when in fact they meant Aventura. That the Venezuelan Jewish community is largely responsible for Aventura’s incorporation is not surprising, given the history and strength of their organizations.

  • shushan

    venezualiamn jews are not friends of american Jews, therefore who cares about this story

  • Annette Cohen

    As someone who has been living in Israel for the past 50 years after making aliya from New York City in 1962 for solely and intensely Zionist reasons I had a hard time coming to terms with the utter lack of relevancy of the State of Israel as a viable destination for these endangered Jews. I do not know if that reflects your personal viewpoint or the reality on the ground. I do know that a very large number of South American Jews have settled happily in my beautiful city of Haifa and throughout Israel over the years, as have many others from lands which they left voluntarily or by force of circumstance.

    When taken from a philosophical, religious, political and/or historical perspective the lack of relevance of the existence of a modern, democratic, successful Jewish state in a piece about the situation in which these people find themselves is almost beyond belief. The seeking of alternatives in Florida, Spain, or other South American countries points to a historical blindness of biblical proportions. Is this something inherently wrong with Diaspora Jews or are we getting a distorted picture?

  • Matthew Fishbane

    Annette, thank you for an interesting, important question. The Venezuelan Jewish community seemed to have very strong ties to the state of Israel. Many of the people I met had family there. Many were choosing to make aliya. The Jewish school takes Juniors on an annual trip to Israel. The club has youth groups and other organized connections to Israel. Hillo Ostfeld has hosted Shimon Peres in his home. If the article neglected to make clear this strong bond, it is an oversight. Salomon Cohen Botbol, the president of the CAIV, talked quite a bit about the challenges of aliya for members of his community. One in particular was the splitting up of large, tight-knit families. In the piece, Isaac’s view toward aliya is representative of what I heard from some others there.

  • Dude

    Israel is full of Spanish speaking Jews. Nice.

  • My2cents

    In response to Mr Arnon when he says : “Jews in Spanish speaking countries have a long history of being held in contempt when not outright put in danger.
    It seems that Jews tend to see their past in a country from which they were expelled as “golden.” Hence the Yiddish song “Roumania, Roumania.”

    I’d like to tell him that I much disagree with both of the points he’s trying to make. Firstly “Jews in Spanish speaking countries” is too broad of a generalization. Each Spanish speaking country is different from the other. I invite you to read about the jewish community in Panama, and then compare to the one in Colombia to see how much they differ in several aspects (i.e level of religiousness, relationship with the government, influence in the local economy).
    Secondly, NOT ONE south american country has expelled jews. so when you say” It seems that Jews tend to see their past in a country from which they were expelled as “golden.”” You are very mistaken. Jewish people are leaving just like non-jews are too. Anyone who is well to do and has some vision and ability to transplant themselves to a better place does it. there isn’t any persecution taking place in latin america. The current situation is harsh for everyone. In the past 15 yrs the jewish communities of Colombia, Argentina, and Venezuela have emigrated in immense numbers. But if you read a bit you can find how non-jews have also left in large numbers.

  • Jean Terry

    This is certainly a sad story and a story the Jewish people have repeated countless times in history.

  • Borg

    Botbol said, meant he knew that the assault would be no more than a few unpleasant and costly hours—“the scariest of my life,” he said, but nothing out of the ordinary…. probably the Jews on the railroad platform in Birkenau felt the same way

  • Pol

    shushan has no idea how involve are the venezuelan jews in their american communitties, he is extremelly ignorant! Venezuelan jews are involve in federation, JCC, sinagoges, and US politics.

  • arnon

    My2cents says:
    “In response to Mr Arnon….
    I’d like to tell him that I much disagree with both of the points he’s trying to make. Firstly “Jews in Spanish speaking countries” is too broad of a generalization. Each Spanish speaking country is different from the other. I invite you to read about the jewish community in Panama, and then compare to the one in Colombia to see how much they differ in several aspects (i.e level of religiousness, relationship with the government,….”

    I am sorry ‘My2cents” that I haven’t seen your post till now. Had I seen I would have replied sooner.

    Except for Argentina, about which later, there are relatively few Jews living in most Spanish speaking countries.

    Then those small number of for the most part immigrated the these countries after WW2. They are also mostly middle or upper class professional who are “protected” by the authorities. (I use the word advisedly.) Many of them also present themselves as secular leftists.

    In a country like Mexico for example there area about 50 thousand Jews and most live in the capital city. There is always talk of “conversos” “hidden Jews” and their descendants, but if they have to be hidden that should tell you much about their status there.
    Jews whatever their persuasion can take their presence in these countries for granted.

    I have met many Spanish speaking non Jews, in the US, in Europe and in South America (mostly educated persons of the left and the right) and they word Judio is often used as an expletive.

    Argentina is an exception because the number of Jews there is greater and these started arriving in the 1900’s and many arrived after world war2. They never had an easy time there and the best one can say about the rulers is that some were not antisemitic. In the 70’s all hell broke loose and the military government went after leftists and subversive (and many, many Jews) in their dirty war to “rid the country of internal enemies.”

    The number fo Jews in Panama is under ten thousand

  • arnon

    The number of Jews in Panama is under ten thousand almost enough to fill a large futbol stadium.

    I can write another ten pages about this topic but if people are interested I suggest they do some research on their own.

  • jacob arnon

    Re: Argentina let a lot of Jews in, but they also let a lot of German Nazis in.

    What does that tell you?

  • A visitor

    My husband’s venezuelan family (we are not Jewish) is dealing with some of the same issues addressed in this excellent artcle. We hope that the jewish community in Caracas will be safe from further violence and can continue to make contributions to the overall quality of life in Caracas.

  • IRIS

    Mr. Chavesz you are dying because the G-d of the jewish people has cursed you for going against his people. Look at Hitler and the german people how they fell. No Empire or nation or race or person that goes against G-ds people will ever survive or have any peace. G-d is justfull thats why you are dying. You got what you deserve

  • Marc

    As the stories and experiences of S American (& S African too) Jews becomes more prevalent in the US, I hope we learn some lessons from them.

    As a pretty typical kid raised in the NY/NJ area, born in Brooklyn to marginally religious parents and raised with the suspicions and striation that Ortho vs Conserv vs Refromed vs “atheist” Jews create for themselves in the relative safety of the US, personally, I learned a lot more on HOW to be Jewish from my S American friends in Aventura than almost anything in my past.

    The “I’m not religious” comment from Isaac reminds me so much of my friends. They have a much more comfortable sense of their Jewishness and religiosity – one we can learn from.

  • Henry

    A year or so ago I recall reading something to the effect that Castro, through an interviewer, admonished Chavez against mistreating Jews.

    Does anyone recall that story, and did it alter Chavez’s behavior?

  • jake

    great piece.
    Seems to be similar to whats going on in the Turkish and Iranian jewish communities.

  • JamesPhiladelphia

    The Jewish community in Mexico are about 50,000. They are a mixture of those coming from Russia and Poland, and from Arab countries Syria and Lebanon. They came to Mexico during the 1920,s and 1930,s. Before WWII. The converses came during the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century.. Established in the north Monterrey and formed industries. Their descendants remained converses. and they are just a curiosity and insignificant as far as the Jewish community is concerned. The Jewish community in Mexico are fully integrated in the country. Prosperous, and even members of the government. The secretary of health is Jewish, a personal friend of president Calderon. The previous president Fox, his foreign minister was of Jewish descent, Mexican father Jewish mother.

    The Sephardic community has provided money to the Shas party in Israel. The whole community Ashkenazy and Sephardic is very supportive of Israel. Leftist anti Israel are almost non existent.

    Thus arnon is strongly ignorant of the Jewish community in Mexico.
    Should check his facts before posting misleading denigrating comments. And keep his mouth shut up.

    Quite a few descendants of these Mexican Jews live in the USA . Most of us are professionals quite successful in America. Strong supporters of Israel. Strong supporters of the USA.

  • JamesPhiladelphia

    In Mexico for the last 30 years of the PRI party control the most popular TV anchorman was Jacobo Zabludovsky a son of Russian Jews born in Mexico. He was the powerful anchorman of news from the main tv chain Televisa. Actually the Televisa chairman had converted to Judaism with his first Jewish wife. Now divorced he reconverted to Catholic. The family are the Azcarragas.

    Mexico has been good to Jews , and vice-versa for industry, commerce, technology, higher education.

  • Emilio B

    Excellent piece. Should be required reading for ALL Jews, everywhere.

  • Carole

    Why am I not surprised that Chavez is supporting the Syrian government by sending arms to fight the insurgents? One anti-Semitic dictator deserves another. I would like to see Oliver Stone’s comment about his beloved Chavez proudly supporting
    the bloodshed in Syria.

  • rosita

    menos mal q llego hugo, ya se estaban apoderando del pais entero, remember palestina: sionistas ladrones y asesinos!

  • Samir Halabi

    Why wasn’t there issued a fatwa on Chavez the Jew-hater’s head.
    Although elected as the winner once again in the Venezuelan national elections. I hope that he will be fatwad in the not too distant future.

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Venezuela’s Dispossessed

Half of Venezuela’s Jewish community fled under Hugo Chávez, who died this week. Will the other half follow?