Andreína Chávez claims the Israeli rescue mission was a "mistake" but rejects the idea that it proves "the Venezuelan government had embraced Zionism." Of course, this has been disproven by the government's own statements.
Chris Slee believes the rapprochement between Israel and the Delcy Rodriguez government is among the "big economic and political concessions" Venezuela has been forced to make "under extreme pressure from the United States." But this position is only tenable if one ignores reality. In fact, far from capitulation, what we have today in Venezuela is a continuation and deepening of policies begun under Maduro, including with relation to Israel. As Simon Rodriguez notes in his NACLA piece https://nacla.org/disaster-diplomacy-israels-aid-mission-to-venezuela-paves-the-way-for-the-restoration-of-ties/ : > > Under former President Nicolás Maduro, the relationship was more pragmatic > than it appeared. > > In 2021, officials from the General Directorate of Military > Counterintelligence boasted about the acquisition of UFED cell phone > espionage equipment, supplied by the Israeli company Cellebrite. Key > members of the state, too, had business ties with capitalists from the > Israeli-Venezuelan community. As early as 2011, an internal U.S. State > Department cable published by Wikileaks identified Isaac Sultán Cohen as > an alleged front man for Diosdado Cabello, at the time Minister of Public > Works and Housing and currently Minister of the Interior, Justice and > Peace. The Binian business group—whose board includes individuals who have > also held leading roles in the Israeli Association of Venezuela (AIV)—has > also reportedly been associated with government-linked businessmen in > major infrastructure projects in Caracas. > > Isaac Cohen, chief rabbi of the AIV, was decorated by Maduro in 2018. > Recently, he was specifically thanked by interim leader Delcy Rodríguez > for his mediation with the Netanyahu government, which resulted in the > deployment of the Israeli mission following the earthquakes. The two had > crossed paths before; in 2017, Cohen declared publicly that Rodríguez, > then Foreign Minister, had told him of her aim to “establish full > relations with the State of Israel.” > Chris tells us that those outside of Venezuela can criticise but must accept his incorrect assessment of events in Venezuela in general and specifically with its relations to Israel. When challenged he just tells us its not our place to talk about this stuff, even as he continues to promote his own mistaken views on the nature of the Rodriguez government. In the end, his refusal to accept reality makes it impossible to build any kind of solidarity, as acceptance of concrete reality is the only basis on which we can collectively work out how to building genuine internationalism. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#42973): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/42973 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120712101/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
