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Dry Bones

Venezuela, The Intimidator

A

mong the Latin American countries that
have displayed antagonism towards Jewish
residents over the years, Argentina usually
leads the list.
But there are strong indications that Venezuela,
under the political leadership of Hugo Chavez, is
becoming especially troublesome.
Venezuela is a major oil producer, the fourth
largest source of imported oil to the United States at
15 percent of the total. Chavez has aligned himself
with the Arab bloc; and senior officials in his gov-
ernment express support for Islamic extremist move-
ments, according to the U.S. State Department's
Report on Global Anti-Semitism.
Chavez is an unabashed admirer of Cuba's
Fidel Castro and has taken his country on
an erratic economic course. But over the last
two years, his policies towards his country's Jewish
population have taken a darker turn.
After an unsuccessful coup against him in 2003,
Chavez claimed agents of Israel's Mossad were
involved. Anti-Semitic leaflets are still openly dis-
played in waiting rooms of government ministries.
Graffiti attacking Caracas' Jews has frequently
appeared on the walls of the city's synagogues.
Last November, members of Venezuela's
Investigative Police raided a Jewish day school,
claiming they had received reports of weapons hid-

den on its grounds. The three-hour search turned
up nothing, but terrified children and teachers.
Media reports indicated it was prompted by
rumors of Israeli involvement in the assassination
of a government prosecutor.
The raid came after warnings from Chavez not
to follow the lead of Jewish citizens in a referen-
dum campaign to overturn his government. His
political allies accused supporters of the referen-
dum of intending to conduct a "Sharon operation,
to do what the Jews are doing in Palestine."
The Stephen Roth Institute of Tel Aviv has
labeled these actions "classical manifestations of
anti-Semitism" and said they are intended to
"plant in the minds of the people that the Jews are
destabilizing Venezuela."
The country's Jewish population is esti-
mated at about 16,000 people, down by
almost 50 percent since the 1980s. But it is still
the sixth biggest Jewish community in Latin
America, trailing Argentina, Brazil and Mexico and
just slightly behind Uruguay and Chile.
These activities would be a reason for concern in
any country. But with Chavez having his hand on
the oil spigot, and making common cause with
groups that support terrorism, it is serious business.
Expatriate Venezuelan Jews in the Miami area are
trying to bring the situation to the attention of
American media and also want the United Nations
to take up the matter.
Given the political attitudes of that august body,
there doesn't seem to be much hope there. But

BIBI WILL RUN
AGAINST SHARON
IN THE NEXT
ISRAELI
ELECTION! /

WILL BE THE
LEFT-WING
CANDIDATE,

EDIT ORIAL

E-mail your opinion in a letter to the editor of no
more than 150 words to: letters@thejewishnews.com

Golden Dreams

I

never thought of 1955 as being much of a
landmark year. Not until I started counting up
all the 50th anniversaries we're celebrat-
ing in 2005.
It is the half-century mark for McDonald's, a
Disneyland and "Rock around the Clock,"
which became the first rock song ever to top
the music charts. That's quite a convergence.
I keep getting lugubrious e-mails about how good
and simple things used to be back in the old days.
Most of them recall a time when the person who
wrote the message was a child.
Sure. Things were jake when it was the old man
who had to worry about making a living and paying
the bills. Not so hot when it's on your shoulders.
Those of us old enough to remember the years
before 1955 have experienced incredible changes in
our daily life. A good many of them trace back to the
conditions that nurtured Mickey D., Mickey Mouse
and that old time rock and roll.
Women were entering the work force in greater
numbers and had less time to prepare a home-

www.mrdrybones.com

American Jews should be made aware of what is
going on in a country that is so close to home in
many ways.
The policies of Hugo Chavez are a problem the
State Department will have to deal with, eventually.
In the meantime, it should be made clear to
Venezuela to stop its campaign of intimidation
against its Jewish citizens. ❑

urbs, which was transforming big cities and
cooked meal every night. Hello,
small towns alike. Disneyland's Main Street
McDonald's.
is actually the idealized Kansas City down-
An explosion of leisure activities and dis-
town, circa 1900, he recalled from his boy-
cretionary spending came as a result of all
hood.
those two-income households. Hi there,
The park was the visual equivalent of
Disneyland.
today's nostalgic e-mails about how clean
The drama of the civil rights
and wonderful life used to be.
me
movement, galvanized by the
It's all false, of course. People who com-
Montgomery bus boycott which
GEORGE
plain
about automobiles forget the filth that
began that year, brought elements of
CANTOR
horses once deposited on city streets and the
African-American culture into the
Co/uminst
horrendous death toll in rail accidents.
mainstream as never before. Hail, hail rock n'roll.
Much crime never made it into the newspa-
The interstate highway system wasn't formal-
pers, especially if it involved minorities, because that
ly initiated until the following year, but many of the
wasn't considered news fit to print.
roads that would be part of it were already open.
Pop music wasn't all that wonderful in the early
So families could travel longer distances on short
'50s.
Better than today, I grant you (how's that for
vacations, wanted food in a hurry in a familiar setting,
damning with faint praise), but hardly the golden
commuted further to work. It was all coming together.
age. Movies were safe and bland and TV meant four
Walt Disney visited Greenfield Village in
channels, like it or lump it.
Dearborn as he was planning his first theme park.
I look back on 1955 and remember living in a nice,
He was motivated by the same concept that had
crime-free Detroit neighborhood. We had no air con-
consumed Henry Ford's creative energies. They both
ditioning in a sweltering summer, swimming pools had
saw the scenes of their boyhoods disappearing.
a "restricted" policy (meaning Jews and blacks weren't
With Ford in the 1920s, it was because of the
wanted), and if you came down with most forms of
mobility his cars gave to people. They didn't have to
cancer or coronary disease you were a dead man.
shop and work in the little farm towns anymore.
It's nice to remember. Those were good years. But
They were free to find better buys and higher pay-
it's better to cheer up, embrace the changes and try
ing jobs elsewhere. So those towns started to die.
to send off happier e-mails.
With Disney in 1955, it was the rush to the sub-

MITT
CBE CR

George Cantor's e-mail address is
gcantor614@aolcom.

❑

8/18

2005

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