Israel runs the risk of losing the battle for public opinion in Latin America if
it doesn’t devote more resources to its advocacy efforts there, Jewish officials
from that part of the world warned at the World Jewish Congress, which drew to a
close on Tuesday.
In a series of informal discussions on the sidelines of
the gathering, delegates from several countries in the region discussed what can
be done to stem the spate of diplomatic debacles suffered by Israel recently in
which countries like Brazil and Argentina have ignored Israeli requests and
recognized Palestinian statehood.
RELATED:
'Most Latin American nations rethinking PA's UN bid'
Ayalon to campaign in Latin American against UN vote
“This is a different kind of battle,
one of the mind, and we are losing it,” said Robert Croitorescu, president of
the Confederacion Latinoamericana Macabi, the Latin American branch of the
global Jewish sporting organization, in conversation with his
colleagues.
“I wish that the authorities in Israel would give more
resources to fight it.”
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post
Croitorescu later expanded on what he meant and explained how he is personally
involved in efforts to try and tackle the issue.
“We don’t do strong
advocacy work there and we are not involved enough. That is why we started our
program called Hatsad Hahsheni [‘the other side’ in Hebrew],” Croitorescu said.
“For the past three years we have invited young Jewish students and leaders to
seminars in 13 countries throughout Latin America preparing them to
debate.”
So far, over 1,000 people have taken part in the seminars which
educate participants about Israel and the Middle East, Croitorescu said. Members
of the growing evangelical community in Latin America, many of whom are
supportive of Israel, will also begin to take part in the seminars.
“If a
small percent of them act as ambassadors for Israel then we will have made a
difference,” he said.
Israel is often seen through the lens of local
politics in Latin America.
Left-leaning groups tend to side with the
Palestinians because Israel is considered close to their ideological enemy, the
US.
Still, Croitorescu isn’t willing to give up on the
continent.
“It is not a lost cause,” he said. “Latin America does not
accept racism and that is why anti-Semitism has never been strong
there. Our mission is to raise doubt in the minds of those who are
against Israel’s right to exist.”
Nowhere is Israel’s situation in Latin
America as dire as it is in Croitorescu’s own native Venezuela, where the
government has severed ties with the Jewish State and promoted a line of public
rhetoric against it which has been construed as anti-Semitic.
“In
Venezuela we have state-sponsored anti- Semitism and anti-Israeliness,” he
lamented. “Our state media lets Arab speakers talk but does not allow us to
respond.” Over the past decade the number of Jews in Venezuela has plummeted
from 22,000 to around 10,000.
The biggest cause for this decrease has
been the atmosphere created by the government, Croitorescu said.
“The
economic situation is bad but this is not why they’re leaving,” Croitorsecu
said. “They are leaving because the Venezuelan government does not differentiate
between Jews and Israelis.”
|