Last Friday a synagogue inside the Israeli Association of Venezuela, Caracas, was broken into and vandalized. The attack came just days before the 10th anniversary of President Hugo Chavez’s rise to power, which seems terribly convenient from multiple perspectives.

I am not saying the horrible attack was not real. It is an act that must be condemned especially if, as some sources have indicated, the house of worship was not only vandalized but also robbed of important documents that identify Jewish residents of Venezuela.

Pero the attack is being used by Chavez opposition and supporters and is spurring the creation of vast conspiracy theories of state sponsored hate in the South American country.

Some are pointing the finger at Chavez directly for the attack, saying his actions against the Israeli government
in solidarity with Palestine have created an atmosphere of anti-Semitism.

Yigal Palmor, a spokesman at the Israeli Foreign Ministry told the EFE Spanish-news agency that the synagogue attack could only occur with the approval of the state.

“We think the attack is condemnable and unacceptable and we think that this sort of violence can only happen in Venezuela with the approval of authorities at the highest level of the state,” Palmor told EFE.

Chavez has condemned the attack and of course has blamed his opponents.

“We condemn the action against the synagogue in Caracas,” Chavez said today in comments on state television. “My government is far from promoting violent acts. But you have to ask yourself who does this benefit? And why is the government immediately blamed?”

So can this anti-Semitic hate crime be taken out of the context of the current political atmosphere in Venezuela? Is a condemnation of the actions of a country, in this case Israel, the same as being anti-Semitic?

Via / Hispanic Tips, Kabob Fest, Huffington Post, Bloomberg, Boing Boing