Wiesenthal Center Slams Attacks on Freedom of Religion in Chile

October 14, 2021

BUENOS AIRES and PARIS - The growing anti-Semitism in Chile, systematically denounced by the Wiesenthal Center, has not yet generated a contrary reaction from a society that would raise its voice against hate speech.

That impunity is allowing intolerance to spread to other groups, including Catholics and Evangelicals, to the point that in the last week places of worship have been burned by hooded protesters.

The Judeo-Christian Confraternity of Chile called for action against intolerance.

Taking advantage of the multi-faith mix, both face-to-face and via streaming, became massive. After an opening message from the President of Israel, Itzhak Herzog, and other personalities, it featured a detailed presentation by Dr. Ariel Gelblung, Director of the Wiesenthal Center for Latin America.

The meeting paid off. At the end of the day, a document was signed condemning the burning of places of worship. Furthermore, more than 120 Christian leaders adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Definition of Anti-Semitism.

"Simon Wiesenthal's:mantra 'What begins with the Jews never ends with the Jews'...They must be the warning bells of Churches, the voices of the Muezeen and the gongs of the Buddha,” stated Wiesenthal Centre Director of International Relations Dr. Shimon Samuels.

Gelblung concluded: “Our institution is present to confront intolerance, racism, discrimination, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and terrorism, phenomena present as never before in Chile in these times. We will always maintain that democracies are the rule of the majority, but they are only as strong as the respect they lavish for minority rights."

For further information, please contact Dr. Shimon Samuels at +336 09770158 or Dr. Ariel Gelblung at +54 9 11 49695365, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).