[Peace-discuss] Follow-up on Venezuela Synagogue Vandalism: Facts vs. NYT

[Robert Naiman]

Venezuelanalysis is not a government website - it is independent of
the government and as far as I know receives no money from the
government (though I doubt they would turn it down if it were
offered.) I think "pro-government" would be a fair characterization.
They don't print whatever the government says, and they do print
things critical of the government, within let's say the framework of
"broadly sympathetic to the principles of chavismo."

On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 9:19 AM, David Green <davegreen84 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/4193
> Robbery, Not Anti-Semitism, Motive for Attack on Venzuela Synagogue
>
>
>
> http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/4205
> "The Jewish community in Venezuela is profoundly grateful and moved by the manifestations of solidarity and appreciation that we have received from all sectors of Venezuelan society," said Elias Farache, president of the Venezuelan Israeli Association."
>
> Yes, this is a Venezuelan government website. Maybe there's more than meets the eye. But there's no evidence to be had that this is the case, except in relation to those who have an interest in promoting the notion that Jews are in danger.
>
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/world/americas/13venez.html?_r=1&ref=americas
> Venezuela's Jews, Already Uneasy, Are Jolted by Attack
>
> Notice how Romero obscures the issue, first referring to Chavez's accusations that the attack was an effort to weaken his rule, then passing lightly over the results of the investigation (motive: robbery), then accusing Chavez of "shifting his position" without emphaszing the more important point that the attack was indeed not motivated by anti-Semitism.
>
> "Despite the government's efforts to put the controversy to rest, a sense of dread still lingers among Venezuela's 12,000 to 14,000 Jews. That number is down from as many as 20,000 in the 1990s because of emigration."
>
> What is the evidence offered for this: one quote at the end of the story:
>
> "On the sidelines of the televised rapprochement on Thursday at the synagogue, one observer, León Benaim, summed up his view of the attack and the government's reaction to it. "The motive was simple," said Mr. Benaim, 73, a Moroccan Jew who moved to Venezuela three decades ago. "It is to threaten and frighten the Jewish community so that we leave.""
>
> Even the same NYT story, in its backhanded way, shows that this statement has no basis in fact, at least in relation to this incident.
>
> Exactly what evidence is there that the government has any interest in Jews emigrating, or that they have taken any steps in pursuing such a policy? Who benefits from accusations of anti-Semitism? Who benefits from emigration? At bottom is the lack of any effort to contextualize the Jewish community in Venezuela. Are they all one and the same? They are stereotyped as fearful. Who's doing the stereotyping?
>
>
>
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-- 
Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org