[NYTr] Miami Herald Shills Drag Out the Old Anti-Semitism Canard Against Venezuela Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2008 15:50:44 -0600 (CST) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit [Oh, GAWD, give it a rest, guys. They've dragged this one out repeatedly against Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. It's particularly effective in Miami, with its large Jewish retiree population, and in New York, where we get treated to local TV features on rabbis traveling to Havana on major Jewish holidays. Fact is, the Israelis themselves have extensive investments in Cuba, and Venezuela, and there's no rampant anti-Semitism in either country, nor in Nicaragua. -NY Transfer] Venezuela Information Office (VIO) http://www.rethinkvenezuela.com excerpted from VIO Venezuela Daily News Roundup - Jan 10, 2008 [Of concern today is a Miami Herald editorial that egregiously alleges that rampant anti-semetic attacks are occurring in Venezuela at the behest of the government. The Herald basis its claims on an intellectual magazine published by the Ministry of Culture that according to them, raises the "question whether to 'expel [the Jews] from the country'." In actuality, the article is an analytical piece within the monthly publication (previous edition pictured here) that looks at the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict. In doing so it lays out the various political positions of all sides, influence of the international media in the conflict, and the interests they serve. It certainly has nothing to do with the Jewish community in Venezuela and does not contemplate whether Jews should be expelled from the country.-VIO] The Miami Herald - Jan 10, 2008 http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/373558.html OUR OPINION: MESSAGE TO MR. CHAVEZ: ANTI-SEMITISM NOT ACCEPTABLE Stop the Attacks on Jews in Venezuela For years, as a steady stream of Venezuelan Jews moved to South Florida, the disturbing stories quietly rumbled throughout the greater community. The first came in 2004 with the start of anti-Semitic attacks in the government media. Within months, a raid on the Jewish community school in Caracas intensified the alarm. Over time, especially as the government has strengthened ties with Iran and other anti-Israel countries, a pattern has developed. The government deploys anti-Semitic attacks as a tool for political gain. Government raids Sammy Eppel, a prominent Venezuelan journalist, raised evidence of that pattern in a talk to the Aventura Chabad on Tuesday. Brought here by the Anti-Defamation League, Mr. Eppel noted two raids by government intelligence agents on the Hebraica complex, the country's most important Jewish center. The first was the 2004 armed raid on the school, just as mothers were arriving with children; it occured in the run-up to the vote that failed to recall President Hugo ChC!vez from power. The second raid came just before last month's constitutional referendum to greatly expand Mr. ChC!vez's power, which also failed. In neither case were weapons or other incriminating materials found. Nor has the government explained or apologized for the incidents. Anti-Semitism in the official media is equally troubling. Mr. Eppel singled out a culture ministry publication that runs articles on ''the Jewish Question.'' Examples in government-friendly newspapers question whether to ''expel [the Jews] from the country'' and raise conspiracy theories by accusing Jews of involvement in the murder of a prosecutor. Mr. ChC!vez's chummy relationship with Iranian President and Holocaust denier Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also is worrisome. The concern, of course, is that anti-Semitic attacks could escalate. So far, the ChC!vez government has been fairly diverse in distributing abuses. It has taken after the Catholic Church, trade unions, business groups, student activists, democracy advocates and the media -- basically any critical group or individual. History unkind to Jews Any human-rights abuse is contemptible -- whether against Jews or others. Yet when Jews are targeted, history suggests that more widespread suffering often follows. To their credit, the Venezuelan Jewish community and its supporters, here and elsewhere, have been working behind the scenes trying to stem the anti-Semitic tide. Some Venezuelans fear that public exposure will only make matters worse. Nonetheless, the Venezuelan government should hear a clear message: The international community will not tolerate anti-Semitism in Venezuela or elsewhere in the region. * ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us Our main website: http://www.blythe.org List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr =================================================================