Press Release from the Venezuelan Government (July 15, 2006):

"Venezuela condemns the attacks of the State of Israel against the people of Palestine and Lebanon"

"The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejects and condemns the disproportionate attacks of the State of Israel against the populations and infrastructure of Palestine and Lebanon. The indiscriminate employment of force has caused numerous deaths and injuries in the civil population, including innocent women and children.

"No pretext can justify such aggressions. The fact that Palestinians have decided to vote for one of the options that they chose during the recent elections, which has irritated Israel, is not a reason for the harassment that has developed and worsened in the current conflict.

"Even less explicable is the destruction of important Lebanese infrastructure systems…creating a very dangerous precedent to international relations. Similarly the aerial harassment towards Syria, puts in danger the stability of the entire region, with the peril of more bloodshed and worst penalties for the population that inhabits the region.

"The U.S. government veto to avoid the consideration of this crisis in the U.N. Security Council is unacceptable. The hegemony that is executed in this organ, is the negation of that organization as a forum to the reasonable resolution of conflicts. For this reason our government continues to be firm in the need to democratize such institution and we are working to occupy a position in its Security Council.


"Finally, the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, expresses solidarity with the attacked countries and the innocent victims, calling to the governments of the world to stop the aggression and work through negotiation to establish a Palestinian State for those people who for centuries have occupied peacefully and have the undeniable right to these lands."

National Assembly declarations:

August 3, 2006: "Urging the Venezuelan government to contribute funds to the humanitarian relief of Lebanon for the ruins left behind by the fascist attacks of Israeli army".

July 28, 2006: "Condemning emphatically the savage and terrorist aggression of the State of Israel against Lebanon and expressing their solidarity with the Lebanese people".

June 29, 2006: "Rejecting and condemning the aggressions of the Zionist State of Israel against the Palestinians, against its democratic institutions and the Arab countries in the region."

July 18, 2006: The "Israeli offensive" (referring to the war in Lebanon) was discussed in the National Assembly plenary and support for Lebanon was unanimously approved citing the indiscriminate attacks by the State of Israel who was using "chemical weapons," causing a genocide, and leaving a large number of victims who were only looking to escape from the war. The debate was initiated by a representative of the government's party who said, "If you do not understand the philosophy of international Zionism you can never understand what happens in the Middle East. The ambitions that were developed in Israel are to take control of all the territories in the region. Israel is a country with more than 60 nuclear warheads capable of destroying half of Europe and parts of Africa… Since 1947 when Israel took control of the majority of the Palestinian territory leaving them only 20 percent of its original land, the Jewish community seeks to intensify its expansion."

Other government action and statements:

August 10, 2006: The Ministry of Science and Technology hosted a free movie-forum titled "Imperialism and Jewish Zionism. Assassins of children. Enemies of the World."

August 8, 2006: During a discussion on the Middle East conflict in the Legislative Chamber of the State of Miranda, a Jewish legislator from the opposition was verbally attacked with anti-Semitic remarks by the President of the Chamber, a member of Chavez's party. The proposed declaration was biased against Israel and the United States. The Jewish legislator stood up to offer his viewpoint on the conflict, advocating for Israel and proposing a declaration in favor of peace for all parties and sympathy with all civilian casualties in the conflict including Palestinian, Lebanese, and Israeli. The President of the Chamber verbally attacked the Jewish legislator, justifying Hitler's killing of Jews as a retaliation for Jews' responsibility in killing Jesus Christ. When the legislator stated his pride for being Jewish and clarified the modern Church teachings that Jews today are not responsible for the killing of Jesus, the President of the chamber continued to attack him by using pejoratively and repeatedly the word "Jew." The session ended immediately to prevent a physical altercation. Some Chavez supporters distanced themselves in private from the anti-Semitic views of the President of the Chamber, but nevertheless the anti-Israel declaration was passed as a public motion.

July 27, 2006: The State of Anzoategui hosted a march protesting Israel's actions during the war in Lebanon. The march's advertisement states, "Considering that the U.S. leadership has financed economically, militarily and morally the policies of extermination [of Israel] with the objective of gaining the support of the Jewish minorities in the U.S., and as sure as we are to avoid a new Auschwitz in southern Lebanon, where more than a 1.2 million people are prisoners of international Zionism, we urge [various organizations] to reject the genocidal policy practiced by Israel and its partner the U.S. empire against the Arab population."

Other one-sided government declarations against Israel:

• Mayor of Caracas, President of the Venezuelan Association of Mayors (July 17)
• Venezuelan Parliamentary Group (July 18)
• Municipality of Vargas (July 20)
• State of Nueva Esparta (August 1)
• State of Miranda (August 8)

Docencia Participativa (Participatory Faculty): The government-affiliated educational institute issues a monthly newsletter.

July 2006 newsletter:

• Front cover text: "Stop the Massacre. For the love of God. For the Love of Allah. Assassin Jews! Apocalyptic Beasts."
• Graphic: An American flag with a pattern including Stars of David and dollar signs.
• Graphic: A skeleton with a Star of David stamped on the forehead and in the background, an Israeli flag with a swastika adjacent to the Star of David.
• Article text: Advocates the withdrawal of the Venezuelan Ambassador in Israel.
  
  

August 2006 newsletter:

• Front cover image and text: A giant Star of David with a swastika in the middle and the headline "XXI Century Jews. Nuremberg."
• Cover story text: "The massacre in the Middle East—children, elderly, women and people destroyed by the bloody Jewish Massacre. Trial to the Criminals of Humanity. Nuremberg."
• Graphic for article entitled, "A Despicable War": Illustration of a man wearing a kippah crushing with his hands a bleeding globe and a Star of David lingering above him.