World Zionist Organization hosts first congress in Chile on antisemitism

The World Zionist Organization (WZO) held a three-day conference on antisemitism in Chile this week. Some 180 Latin-American Jewish leaders attended the conference to discuss the fight against antisemitism. WZO chairman Yaakov Hagoel also invited the new ambassador to Chile, Marina Rosenberg, to address the conference. During the congress, Hagoel said that, “Jewish leaders must understand that antisemites want Jews to be afraid of being Jewish. “If the Jew is afraid of being Jewish, then in the end he will not be a Jew,” he continued. “The responsibility for maintaining Jewish pride and fighting antisemitism belongs to the entire Jewish people – especially the leadership, and to the entire people of Israel.” He stressed that antisemitism “kills the Jewish spirit – and that is what should be avoided with tools brought from this Congress.” Rosenberg addressed the event and shared that she had recently received antisemitic messages online. The ambassador, who began her diplomatic mission in the country in July, emphasized that, together with the community, she is working not only in the fight against antisemitism but also in the fight against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. “The ambassador's first personal experience began recently after she received antisemitic tweets that were sent to her personal account,” the WZO said in a statement. “In this context, the diplomat said that when she asked Chilean officials and politicians about the existence of antisemitism, they replied – surprisingly – that this scourge does not exist in the South American country.” Some of the tweets called for the liberation of Palestine, while others said that what Israel is doing “is genocide,” adding that “they [the Israelis] have been doing what the Nazis did to you.” Another user asked if she had come to “kill Palestinian children in Chile.” Rosenberg emphasized during her address that this is why “we should talk, discuss and teach with decision-makers, media and civil society as much as possible on the issue both within and outside the Jewish community, as we must expose and unmask what is happening around us and fight against antisemitic hatred.” At the conference, Simon Wiesenthal Center's Latin American representative, Dr. Ariel Gelblung, focused on the issue of Holocaust denial today, while journalist Isaias Wassermann discussed the impact of BDS in the country. “The World Zionist Organization holds several regional conferences every year about the fight against antisemitism in Europe, South America and North America,” the organization said following the event. “The conferences stem from the continued rise of antisemitic events around the world and the need for Jewish residents to know how to defend themselves and who to contact if necessary.”

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World Zionist Organization hosts first congress in Chile on antisemitism

New ambassador to Chile says she has received antisemitic tweets following her appointment in July.

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