A synagogue in Santiago, Chile, was defaced on Friday night with graffiti and posters accusing Jews of genocide, in an attack that has alarmed both the Jewish community and Israeli diplomats, reports The Jerusalem Post.
The Bikur Cholim Synagogue, which is used only occasionally by Santiago’s Jewish community, was sprayed with red paint and plastered with a poster depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a bullet hole in his forehead. The accompanying graffiti read: “If you keep silent, you’re part of genocide.”
Israeli ambassador to Chile Peleg Lewi confirmed the incident, stressing that police are treating the vandalism seriously. He called for calm and warned against importing the violence and hatred of the Middle East conflict into Chilean society. While antisemitic incidents in Chile have historically been infrequent, Lewi cautioned that even isolated acts of hatred carry a dangerous message.
The Jewish Community of Chile condemned the attack in a statement on Sunday, warning that such incidents “must not be normalised.” The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) also reacted, saying: “No synagogue should ever be vandalised. This is a reminder that antisemitism is a global threat.”
The attack comes against the backdrop of Chile’s unique demographics. With a Palestinian community of nearly 500,000 — one of the largest outside the Middle East — and a Jewish population of only 20,000–25,000, tensions around the Israel–Hamas war have sometimes spilt into Chilean society. Jewish leaders fear that such demographic and political pressures risk fuelling further antisemitic incidents if left unchecked.
The defacement of a synagogue gate with violent imagery and Holocaust-distorting slogans highlights how anti-Israel sentiment in Latin America is increasingly being expressed through attacks on Jewish targets, reinforcing concerns that Jews worldwide are being held collectively responsible for events in the Middle East.
Photo credit: SCREENSHOT/X
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