Venezuela arrests police, guard in synagogue attack

[IndianaGreen]

For the benefit of those that accused Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian revolution, including ADL's Abe Foxman. Additional reports appear to suggest that the culprits were also part of an anti-Chavez coalition and the attack on the synagogue was a provocation by the Venezuelan elites using innocent Jews as bait.

Cross posted from LBN.

Venezuela arrests police, guard in synagogue attack

Source: Reuters

08 Feb 2009 19:45:13 GMT

CARACAS, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Venezuelan investigators on Sunday said seven police agents and four civilians were arrested in connection with an attack on a synagogue that sparked international condemnation.

The Venezuelan public prosecutor's office said the civilians included at least one security official from the synagogue and that all had been captured in raids over the weekend.

"These people were apprehended during raids carried out between Saturday and the early hours of Sunday in different parts of Caracas. They will all be charged by the Public Prosecutor's office," the office said in a statement.

Armed men broke into Venezuela's Tiferet synagogue last week, daubing the walls with slogans like "Jews get out" and destroyed religious objects.

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N08458628.htm

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3729382&mesg_id=3729382

On edit:

AP: Venezuela detains 11 suspects in synagogue attacks
Venezuela detains 11 suspects in synagogue attacks
By CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER, Associated Press Writer Christopher Toothaker, Associated Press Writer – 5 mins ago

CARACAS, Venezuela – Authorities arrested 11 people, including seven police officers, suspected of carrying out an attack on a Caracas synagogue that raised concerns of rising of anti-Semitism in Venezuela, officials said Sunday.

The Attorney General's Office said an agent of the federally controlled investigative police force and one of the synagogue's security guards were among the 11 suspects arrested during raids over the weekend. The suspects are scheduled to be arraigned Monday.

Elias Farache, president of the Venezuelan-Israelite Association, applauded Venezuelan authorities for responding rapidly.

"We thank the authorities for the quick detention of the suspects," he said in a telephone interview. "We also want to thank all of those who showed their solidarity with us."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090208/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_venezuela_anti_semitism_1

[Trajan]

1. Yay ....

There were some very despicable acts, which were in at least some small measure due to the careless words of the Venezuelan leader .... at the least ....

[EFerrari]

16. Nope. The perp was denied a loan by the rabbi and he decided to

go in and take what he was denied. They've admitted to spraying all that awful stuff in order to create the impression that it was political.

Israel owes Chavez an apology. I didn't see the Israeli goverment sliming Bloomberg for the awful things said at protests there or Daly for the anti-semitic episodes in the last few weeks in Chicago. The Israeli government was completely out of line, especially considering that not Chavez but the opposition controls law enforcement in Caracas.

The truth is that Jews, Muslims and Christians co-exist very peaceably in Venezuela and the Chavez government has been very supportive of minorities.

[Peace Patriot]

2. Official Jewish spokesman: Chavez not to blame; Chavez gov't liberal, always supports minorities

I posted this in the Latin American forum, here
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x11460

Here's the original story

Venezuela’s Chávez Reaffirms his Respect for Judaism
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/4179

[IndianaGreen]

3. Will ADL's Abe Foxman apologize for sliming Chavez for the attack?

I doubt it. Foxman and his ilk never apologize for anything.

Those DUers that defended Chavez and pointed out that the attack on synagogue could have been part of plot to disrupt an upcoming referendum should feel vindicated, once again!

To the anti-Chavistas in DU, go FRAK yourselves!

[henank]

6. So I guess that all those nice things Chavez said about Judaism

You know what I mean, when he called Jews Christ-killers etc., like this:

“the descendants of those who crucified Christ... have taken ownership of the riches of the world, a minority has taken ownership of the gold of the world, the silver, the minerals, water, the good lands, petrol, well, the riches, and they have concentrated the riches in a small number of hands.”

it was all a misunderstanding, a mistranslation. Yeah, that must be it. He definintely loves his Jews. :puke:

For the full Spanish language speech, see here: Chavez in his own words (scroll down to page 18 for the above words).

And those Jewish representatives who said Chavez is not to blame, I'm convinced, absolutely positive that they weren't feeling intimidated by attacks on synagogues, Jewish centres and the like. Absolutely. :sarcasm:

[IndianaGreen]

7. Keep drinking that RW Kool Aid, buddy!

It will melt your brain, if it hasn't already!

[henank]

8. Are you denying that Chavez said those things?

Such a mature response, full of facts, figures and quotes.

[IndianaGreen]

9. Chavez didn't say those things, and didn't mean the spin you people in your echo chamber

want to give it.

[henank]

10. He did indeed say them

I gave you a link of his own words. "Us people" (nasty turn of phrase with sinister implications) don't need to put any spin on anything. It's written black on white. Face it. Your pal is an antisemite.

[IndianaGreen]

11. Venezuela's Jewish leaders debunked that libel against Chavez

They even denounced the attack on Chavez in a letter to the Simon Weisenthal Center which is the one that smeared Chavez in the first place.

Venezuela’s Chávez Reaffirms his Respect for Judaism

February 6th 2009, by Gregory Wilpert – Venezuelanalysis.com

February 6, 2009 (venezuelanalysis.com)— Calling in to an evening talk show on Venezuelan state TV yesterday, President Chávez spoke to Elias Farache, the president of Venezuela’s Israeli Association, and said the recently attacked synagogue in Caracas must be respected, just as all religions and their sites of worship must be respected.

Chávez made the spontaneous call to the television program “Dando y Dando” (Give and Give) while the show’s host was speaking to Farache about the recent attack on one of Caracas’s synagogues, in which unidentified individuals vandalized the temple and nearby offices.

Chávez said that the attack had “very strange” elements and reminded him of an attack a few years ago against the consulates of Colombia and Spain in Caracas, in which perpetrators tried to give the appearance of being Chávez supporters by leaving pro-Chávez fliers at the scene. Later, though, with the help of security camera recordings, two individuals were identified who had links to the opposition and are now living in the U.S.

<snip>

With regard to the government’s supposed culpability in the attack, Farache denied such considerations, saying, “We do not accuse the government. It would not be logical for us to be attacked by a government that is liberal, … that has above all always been in favor of minorities.”

Farache also expressed his satisfaction and amazement that the President would call him on the program, to speak about this in public. “If the President of the Bolivarian Republic calls me, wow, it is because it has been important to you and it is something that we appreciate far more than you can imagine,” said Farache.

President Chávez concluded by announcing that the government would implement security measures to protect sites of the Jewish community in Venezuela.

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/4179

[henank]

13. They may have exonerated Chavez for the attack

on the synagogue (and I still am not convinced that they were not intimidated into doing so) but Chavez definitely said those words. He may have said them to be populist or in demagogery, and not really mean them, but the words are out there.

[Bodhi BloodWave]

15. Is it not facinating

how somebody will answer one post(11) with one of theirs(13) basically ceding one part of their argument while stating that the remaining part of their argument is fact and proven black on white, then skipping the post right below(12) that counters the remaining part of the said argument.

[Idealism]

14. Do you believe the worst of what you read always without a second thought?

[Bodhi BloodWave]

12. Now an interesting question for ya, why did you remove the line that goes against your argument?

Without any cutting the full section is(with an rather important section highlighted)

The world has an offer for everybody but it turned out that a few minorities--the descendants of those who crucified Christ, the descendants of those who expelled Bolivar from here and also those who in a certain way crucified him in Santa Marta, there in Colombia--they took possession of the riches of the world, a minority took possession of the planet’s gold, the silver, the minerals, the water, the good lands, the oil, and they have concentrated all the riches in the hands of a few; less than 10 percent of the world population owns more than half of the riches of the world.

To use some info from a different site rather then trying to write it up myself

The biggest problem with depicting Chavez's speech as an anti-Semitic attack is that Chavez clearly suggested that "the descendants of those who crucified Christ" are the same people as "the descendants of those who expelled Bolivar from here." As American Rabbi Arthur Waskow, who questioned the charge, told the Associated Press (1/5/06), "I know of no one who accuses the Jews of fighting against Bolivar." Bolivar, in fact, fought against the government of King Ferdinand VII of Spain, who reinstituted the anti-Semitic Spanish Inquisition when he took power in 1813. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, a Jewish sympathizer in Curacao provided refuge to Bolivar and his family when he fled from Venezuela.

Most of the accounts attacking Chavez (the Daily Standard was an exception) left the reference to Bolivar out entirely; the Wiesenthal Center deleted that clause from the speech without even offering an ellipsis, which is tantamount to fabrication.

((Bodhi's addition: I find the above paragraph to be quite valid in regards to your post))

---snip---

That Chavez's comments were part of some anti-Semitic campaign is directly contradicted by a letter sent by the Confederation of Jewish Associations of Venezuela to the Wiesenthal Center (AP, 1/14/06). "We believe the president was not talking about Jews," the letter stated, complaining that "you have acted on your own, without consulting us, on issues that you don't know or understand." The American Jewish Committee and the American Jewish Congress agreed with the Venezuelan group's view that Chavez was not referring to Jews in his speech (Inter Press Service, 1/13/06).

In context, the Chavez speech seems to be an attempt by Chavez to link the attacks on his populist government to the attacks on his two oft-cited heroes, Jesus and Bolivar; the "minority" that would link the two would be the rich and powerful minority of society. The reference to "less than 10 percent of the world population" owning half the wealth also makes the idea that Chavez was talking about Jews far-fetched; 10 percent of 6 billion would be 600 million people. (According to the Encyclopedia Brittanica, there are approximately 15 million Jewish people in the world.)

[Idealism]

4. The media elite still controls much of the airwaves in Venezuela

Which means that the story is "Chavez caused this" at best. At worst: "Chavez supported and perpetrated this."

[IndianaGreen]

5. Here are the names of the people arrested, including an Edgar Alexander

Among them there is a homicide detective (Yadira Torres), a Caracas police inspector (Luis Eduardo Castillo Guerrero), and one of the synagogue's security guards (Víctor Eduardo Escalona Lovera). They also arrested 5 members of the Metropolitan Police motorcycle division, including one with an American name, Edgar Alexander Cordero.

En un comunicado emitido por el Ministerio Público, se informa que el fiscal 41° nacional y su auxiliar, Cristian Quijada y Gustavo Li Chang, respectivamente, imputarán a los cabo segundos de la PM Frank Luis Piñate, Francisco José Pérez Díaz y a Edgar Alexander Cordero, éste último adscrito a la zona 6 de la PM; así como al distinguido Charlys Angelo, y al agente José Milla, también pertenecientes al mismo organismo de seguridad, por presuntamente incurrir en delitos tipificados en el Código Penal y la Ley Orgánica Contra la Delincuencia Organizada.

También serán imputados la detective del Cicpc, Yadira Torres (adscrita a la División Contra Homicidios); al subinspector de la Policía de Caracas, Luis Eduardo Castillo Guerrero (adscrito a la Brigada Motorizada), y al oficial de seguridad de la Sinagoga, Víctor Eduardo Escalona Lovera, quien había sido citado en calidad de imputado para el 13 de febrero, por el Ministerio Público.

También fueron detenidos tres ciudadanos, quienes responden a los nombres de Rafael Enrique y Harvey Enrique Colina Mogollón, y Orlando José Pérez Díaz. Tales personas fueron aprehendidas durante allanamientos realizados el sábado y madrugada de este domingo en distintas zonas de Caracas, e igualmente serán imputados por el Ministerio Público.

http://www.eluniversal.com/2009/02/08/pol_ava_detenidos-siete-func_08A2218609.shtml

[oberliner]

17. Chavez says foes trying to spur 'religious war'

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Hugo Chavez accused Venezuela's opposition and privately-owned media on Tuesday of attempting to incite "a religious war" by unjustly accusing his government of fomenting anti-Semitism following an attack on a synagogue.

Chavez railed against opposition leaders for suggesting that his harsh criticism of the Israeli government and its military offensive in the Gaza Strip have inspired anti-Semitism, and he challenged them to publicly retract their statements.

Speaking in a nationally televised address, Chavez said his political adversaries and private media outlets critical of his government are involved in a "criminal attempt to try to unleash a religious war in Venezuela."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jOU8-GWY2gk1CENOnld0ae2MpURQD9691N580