A few weeks back, after initially having exercised some restraint with regard to Israel, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez gave diplomats from that country the boot, effectively closing up shop on Israel-Venezuela diplomatic relations. Now it’s Israel’s turn; not to be outdone, they’ve given Venezuelan diplomats walking papers as well:

Venezuelan head of mission Roland Betancourt and two other diplomats were given until Friday to leave.

“Due to the decision of Venezuela to cut relations with us a few weeks ago, we told the Venezuelan charge d’affaires that he and his staff should leave Israel,” Foreign Ministry official Lior Hayat said. “We told them they are declared persona non grata in Israel.”

While many might think these tensions are new, this strained relationship is actually older than the current situation in Gaza and dates back to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, during which Chavez had some harsh words for Israel and at which point Venezuela stopped issuing tourist visas to Israeli nationals. Prior to that and subsequently, there have been allegations by Venezuelan Jews of raids and other attacks on their community, and the meme of Chavez’s alleged anti-semitism continues.

But back to the current situation; the response from the Chavez government to the expulsion of their diplomats in Israel was sharp: “The response of the state of Israel is weak, late, and in any case for us it’s an honor…We’re proud that the state of Israel that exists today, led by these criminals, made this decision.”

Via / CNN