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In 1997 there was little change in the situation regarding extremist
movements and hate groups. It was suspected that the extreme right-wing Nuevo
Orden party was behind a spate of graffiti on the walls of the Sephardic
synagogue Los Palos Grandes in Caracas, and in various public places.
THE JEWISH COMMUNITY
Venezuela's Jewish community numbers about 30,000, out of a total population of
20,618,000. Most of the Jewish population live in the capital, Caracas. The
Confederación de Asociaciones Israelitas de Venezuela (CAIV) embraces four
organizations: Asociacion Israelita de Venezuela (Sephardi), Union Israelita de
Caracas (Ashkenazi), the Zionist Organization and B'nai B'rith. Also affiliated
to the central body are the Union of Jewish Women, several youth movements and
representatives from smaller towns.
ANTI-SEMITIC ACTIVITIES AND HATE GROUPS
There was little change in the situation regarding extremist movements and
groups in 1997. Arab groups continued to publish aggressive propaganda against
Zionism, Judaism and the State of Israel in the local press. Those active in
this campaign were Rafael Bayed Mardeni, ex-president of FEARAB (Federation of
Arab Associations) in Venezuela and Latin America, and Mustapha Hraibeh,
ambassador of Lebanon. In national newspapers such as El Globo and El Mundo,
Bayed justified terrorism as a mean of defense in the struggle against Zionism.
He was also active in an escalating campaign in these papers to deny or
minimize the Holocaust, claiming, inter alia, that the victims of the past were
now perpetrating a holocaust against the Palestinian people.
It was suspected that the ultra-right-wing Nuevo Orden (New Order), led by
Félix Díaz Ortega, was behind a spate of graffiti which appeared in February
and April on the walls of the Sephardic synagogue Los Palos Grandes in Caracas
and in public places in upper and middle class neighborhoods. In addition, two
young men appeared at a Sabbath service at the same synagogue and gave the Nazi
salute. The anti-Semitic graffiti included such slogans as "I have the
crematorium in my pocket," and "Death to the Jews."
Anti-Semitic propaganda is also disseminated by the Partido Laboral Venezolano
(Venezuela Workers' Party), an affiliate of the Lyndon LaRouche cult (see USA).
The local leader is Alejandro Pena Esclusa and its organ Solidaridad
Iberoamericana is similar in name and content to that of LaRouche's affiliates
in other Latin American countries (see Colombia, Mexico).
Another anti-Semitic group also found in other Latin American countries (see,
for example, Chile) is Secta Moon (Moon Sect). It received official recognition
by the state in March. The anti-Semitism of this group increased in 1997.
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