Iran/Israel. From Colombia, Israel sent a strong message to Ahmadinejad and Chavez

“I want to transmit to Iran´s president (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) that he won´t succeed and that he won´t touch the State of Israel”, Metzger said in the closure of an important act carried out in the Colombian capital in commemoration of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The ceremony was organized by “Alcemos nuestra voz: Paz en Tierra Santa” (Let´s raise our voice: Peace in the Holy Land) campaign, which is ruled by William Soto, and was attended by political leaders, Jewish community members from Venezuela and Colombia, and the Israeli ambassador in Bogota, Yoed Magen. From Argentina AMIA´s general secretary and DAIA´s vice president, Julio Schlosser, participated.

During his speech, Rabbi Metzger pointed out that “a new Hitler that threatens to exterminate the Jewish people was born again”, in an obvious reference to Iran´s president Ahmadinejad.

“We don´t have relationships, border or commercial ties with Iran and it isn´t clear what he wants. I want to transmit to Iran´s president that he won´t succeed and that he won´t touch the State of Israel”, said the religious leader in front of over a thousand people that attended to the act that took place in the Bogota´s Army Club.

Metzger also said that “Israel´s land has a special feature because it is the only land in the world over which, according to the Bible, God´s eyes are upon constantly”.

“We live in a place where the situation is difficult, were the leaders murder citizens or the citizens murder the leaders, but the State of Israel is a paradise”, he assured in reference to what happens in the Arab countries. 

The religious leader also invited “all the world leaders and specially those who start to be influenced by Chavez, Venezuela, to support and strengthen Israel, because the State of Israel´s message is that Auschwitz won´t exist again”.

Besides, the Rabbi also said that “a person who puts his efforts and money to murder other people in the world and to prepare weapons that can be dangerous to everyone doesn´t have to be received in other countries”. In this way, Metzger outlined that Iran´s danger “isn´t only for Israel but for the entire world”.

“There have been terror attack samples in the past in Latin America, in Argentina, Buenos Aires (in reference to Israel Embassy and AMIA bombings). That’s why we have to be united towards this president´s opposition and to understand that peace and freedom won´t come with weapons”, he said. 

The rabbi also referred to the Holocaust survivors and said that “God helped and stood by them not only to survive the Shoa but also to create the Jewish State”.

“Who could think that the people saved from the cremation could build an empire in MIiddle East”, the religious leader said, and also outlined that “Israel is the home, the central place, of all the Jewish around the world”. 

However, Metzger invited everyone to “visit Israel and the Holy Land that is a meaningful place for the Catholics”. “In fact we have more churches in Jerusalem than in Rome and everyone is invited to see how we coexist and how we keep the peace in Israel”, he added. 

The rabbi outlined that “since the State of Israel´s creation there has been freedom of worship and religion”. “Let´s respect the different religious expressions and the spiritual leaders of every religion. Israel is a model and a symbol of harmony and religious peace in the Holy Land”, he said. 

 

Israel ambassador: “The world must condemn Ahmadinejad´s statements”

 

Israel´s ambassador in Colombia, Yoed Magen, denounced a campaign that wants to delegitimize Israel created by Israel’s enemies and that – according to his interpretation- “intensified since Durban´s conference on human rights in 2001, when Israel was attacked in an unprecedented way”.

“Even though the Holocaust was a unique tragedy for the Jewish people, what teaches us is universal and the Shoa was the lowest point in human history. It was proved that while the Jew could be the first Holocaust victims they rarely were the last”, he said. 

Magen pointed out that in the past years the world witnessed “new anti-Semitic ways that were showed in a campaign to delegitimize the State of Israel.

“This sophisticated attack has captured the imagination of certain people, non-profitable organizations and anti-Semitic governments all over the world. The voices and facts that come out from this people and groups are very worrying”, he outlined.

The ambassador also alerted that “Iran president´s statements about the elimination of the State of Israel are especially dangerous”. “This statements and his constant Holocaust denial, along with the continuous efforts of this country to develop massive destruction weapons must turn all the warning red lights on”, he added.

To Magen, “the international communities’ duty and responsibility is to condemn these alarming statements and to fight against this growing threat”.

“If we don´t do this it could lead to a new Holocaust. Remember that the Shoa didn´t begin in the gas chambers but in the verbal statements of the political leaders that called for hatred, intolerance and racism”, the Israeli ambassador pointed out. 

However, he also considered that “today´s existence of the State of Israel is the only guarantee” there is to avoid a new Holocaust. 

“But the anti-Semitism challenge makes us unite our efforts to fight against this untiring threat. We have to push the governments to make them define the anti-Semitism and the Holocaust denial as crimes. We have to stay alert against this evil´s revival in benefit of future generations”, Magen said. He also insisted in raising awareness among the young that don´t know the historical facts of the Holocaust.

The event was attended by different diplomatic groups and Colombia´s papal hierarchy, Aldo Cavalli.

It was the first time that representatives of the Venezuela´s Jewish community participate in an event in Bogota. The delegation was headed by the Confederación de Asociaciones Israelitas de Venezuela´s (CAIV – Venezuela´s confederation of Israeli associations) president, Salomón Botbol, who travelled with his vice-president, David Bittan; his general secretary, Miguel Trutzman; and the Israel Venezuelan Cultural Institute director, Celina Bentata.

The “Alcemos nuestra voz: Paz en Tierra Santa” campaign´s (Let´s raise our voice: Peace in the Holy Land) coordinator, Guillermo Rodriguez; AMIA´s general secretary and DAIA´s vice-president, Julio Schlosser; and the Jewish News Agency´s director, Daniel Berliner, traveled in representation of Argentina.

During the event one of the six candles in recordation of the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust was lit by a diplomatic representative of the German Embassy in Colombia, Rudiger Lotz, along with the Israeli ambassador in Colombia.

The event had been organized during William Soto and Rabbi Metzger´s meeting on December 17th in Israel, where they both talked about the need of strengthen ties between the Judaism and the Catholicism this year. 

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