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August 25,
2006
WIESENTHAL
CENTER SLAMS CHAVEZ’ HITLER COMPARISON
The Simon
Wiesenthal Center today condemned Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
for denouncing Israel’s actions in Lebanon as a
“genocide” as bad or worse than those committed by Hitler. Chavez made these
remarks at a press briefing during his six day trip to China. He also
stated that Israel has “fascist attitudes” and that it has “lost its mind.”
and that should be brought before an international war crimes tribunal.
“The
Jewish State doesn’t need lectures from a demagogue who increasingly
parrots soundbites by Iranian President Ahmadinejad,” said Rabbi Abraham
Cooper, associate dean of the Wiesenthal Center. “Israel did everything to
minimize civilian casualties while Hezbollah cynically did everything in
its power to maximize civilian casualtieson both sides of the
Lebanon-Israel border,” he continued.
Rabbi
Cooper also added that Chavez’ remarks come on the heels of the recent
exhibition of Holocaust cartoons in Iran.
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 and the Council of Europe.
For more
information, please contact the Center's Public Relations Department,
310-553-9036.
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