The Jewish community in Venezuela is launching a widespread campaign against its government’s decision to move its embassy in Israel from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, Walter Czenstochowsky, chairman of the World Zionist Organization in Venezuela and vice president of the central committee of Jewish organizations in that country, said here today in a radio interview.
Czenstochowsky, who is visiting Israel, said Jewish leaders in Venezuela were meeting with high-ranking government officials as well as public opinion molders, pointing out that the issue of united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is above and beyond any political considerations. “Jerusalem is not only the capital of Israel but also the capital of the Jewish people,” he said.
Venezuela announced last week that it was moving its embassy from Jerusalem, where it has been located for the past 22 years, in protest against “one-sided measures taken by Israel changing the status of the city. “Czenstochowsky said he could not understand why Venezuela was the first Latin American country to take this step.
He said he did not believe that Venezuela gave in to Arab pressure because as a leading world oil producer it could resist such pressure. “I believe that the pressure came not from Israel’s enemies, but her friends,” he said. Hinting that it was the United States which initiated the step, Czenstochowsky said there were friends who wanted to take measures against Israel. “However, because of obvious reasons they could not take these measures, they wanted others to do it in their place,” he said.
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