Israel Matzav

Thuggo goes after the Jews

Forgive me for reporting on an event outside of Israel, but given that Venezuelan dictator THugGo Chavez is an ally of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinadinnerjacket, Israel's sworn enemy, I thought this item to be at least somewhat peripherally related.

On Saturday night, the night before the referendum vote in Venezuela in which he was denied being made President for life, Chavez sent his goons to raid the largest Jewish social club in Venezuela:

The raid on La Hebraica late Saturday night occurred just hours before Venezuelans went to the polls to decide on constitutional changes proposed by President Hugo Chavez. The raid was seen as a provocation against the Jewish community, which is almost unanimously opposed to Chavez, a major ally of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and his leftist reforms.

The police raid took place as 900 Jews enjoyed an all-night wedding party at the nearby Union Israelita synagogue in Altamira, an upscale suburb of Caracas.

According to sources, members of the police unit that investigates drug-trafficking and terrorism broke the main gate of La Hebraica in the middle of the night, allegedly looking for weapons and explosives.

Officers searched the premises but found nothing, the sources said.

...

Saturday night's raid echoed one from November 2005, when Venezuelan police raided a Jewish school in Caracas looking for weapons. None were found.

Despite yesterday's good news, if I were a Jew in Venezuela, I'd be seriously considering aliya to Israel right now.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:55 PM