Abstract

FIGUEROA SEPULVEDA, Margarita. The emergence and increase of anti-semitism in the governments of Hugo Chávez and its relationship with the deepening of the relations between Venezuela and Iran (2005-2013). rev.relac.int.estrateg.segur. [online]. 2018, vol.13, n.1, pp.239-268. ISSN 1909-3063.  https://doi.org/10.18359/ries.2942.

From 2004 Venezuela experiences the emergence of anti-Semitic incidents, that began with the harassment of institutions and people of the Jewish community of the country, first by the media and then by the government of Hugo Chavez. This situation was strengthened by deepening relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2005 under the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The following article analyzes the relationship between the rise and increase of anti-Semitism during the last two terms of Hugo Chávez and the deepening of relations between Venezuela and Iran in the period 2005-2013. The aim is to demonstrate how the ideological convergence -supported in anti-imperialism- between the governments of Chavez and Ahmadinejad explains the development and increment of anti-Semitism in the government of Hugo Chavez. To establish the causal relationship between the phenomena, we used a methodology of process-tracing analysis, based on the empirical evidence provided by primary and secondary sources. Therefore, it is concluded that anti-imperialism caused Israel to be conceived as an enemy of both countries, owing to its historic alliance with the United States. This generated anti-Zionism in Chávez, his government and supporters of it, which led to blaming the Venezuelan Jewish community for the actions of Israel in the Middle East, which subsequently incurred anti-Semitic actions and attitudes, from harassment to physical violence against people in country's Jewish community.

Keywords : anti-semitism; anti-zionism; anti-imperialism; palestinian-israeli conflict; ideology.

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