A Santiago synagogue was vandalized on Friday night, according to the Jewish Community of Chile and Israeli ambassador to Chile Peleg Lewi.
Lewi said that the gate of the Bikur Cholim Synagogue, which is in limited use by the Jewish community, was sprayed with red paint and plastered with a poster that depicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a bullet hole in his forehead.
“If you keep silent, you’re part of genocide,” read some of the graffiti. Police are investigating the incident and taking the matter seriously, said Lewi.
Antisemitic incidents are rare in Chile, the ambassador explained, noting there had only been a few minor incidents in recent years. Lewi said it was important that calm be sought and that the conflict in the Middle East not be exported to Chile.
The Jewish Community of Chile's representative body condemned the attack in a Sunday X/Twitter post, warning that acts of hatred could not be normalized.
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“Chile is a country that values freedom of worship, and that means we must respect, care for, and protect one another, regardless of our beliefs,” said the community. “Vandalism of a holy site is not just an attack on a community but on the coexistence and peace of the entire country.”
The Anti-Defamation League said on social media on Sunday that the incident in Chile was the latest reminder that antisemitism is a global threat. “No synagogue should ever be vandalized,” said the ADL.
Chile has one of the largest Palestinian diasporas outside of the Middle East, according to The Guardian, consisting of almost 500,000 people. There are between 20 and 25 thousand Jews living in the country.